GREENER-GRASS

Notice of New Website

2007-05-08T15:45:00.000-05:00

For the most up-to-date information about Seth,
as well as his latest articles and written works,
visit his new website at www.SethWillard.com.

Thanks for your patience and patronage.

I'll be back when the day is new / and I'll have more ideas for you

2006-09-23T17:18:00.000-05:00

College and homework. Generation Joshua club and writing guild. Campaigns and meetings. Projects, projects, projects. When I get started on one, I abandon another...and I'm sooooo busy!

What sounds like excuses is my excuse for not posting recently on SethWillard.com. I just don't have time; well, actually, I'm only taking 4 classes so I do get more free time than most college students. It's just that, well, posting isn't always my first priority.

Nor should it be. I'm still living at home, so my first priority is my family. What comes next is a broad range of interests, from reading to bowling...and the blog just isn't up there as far as it used to be. Plus, two things always bother me about it.

1. I fear the only readers I have are spammers. And I don't write to have someone leave a lame comment like "Do you like to cook or do you just like to type?"

2. I have a hard time coming up with articles. Perhaps it would be easier if I knew I had readers, but I can't just sit down and write unless I'm in the mood.

Thus, this post will have to serve as my farewell post, at least for the time being. The blog will stay online, making the pictures, recipes, articles and musings available to you. And I'll probably update it periodically, so be sure to stop by once in awhile. If you do, write a comment to let me know. I automatically get an email with your message, so it works dandy. As long as you know me you'll know the address: SethWillard.com!

I already have tears in my eyes, so this sabbatical may not last long...I could change my mind and be back tomorrow. But Alas! Work is calling, projects need time, the teacher is knocking.

Thanks for reading.

Where's Seth?

2006-08-30T19:34:00.000-05:00

It's time for an update on what's been going on in my life and the basic answer is one word: college. I started this week and am ready for a productive semester at Alexandria Technical College which is 15 miles from my home. I am taking general classes that will transfer to other institutions including public speaking, composition, college algebra and U.S. history.

I have many plans for 2007 that I am putting together and have also been busy with Generation Joshua and our homeschool group. (Yes, I graduated, but I'll always be a homeschooler...)

I'll try to post here regularly, so don't stop visiting this site on occasion.
Thanks a lot!

By the way: the Rebelution has a whole new look and many new features that truly make it a top-notch blog. (Not that it wasn't already...) Be sure to check it out.

ROC: Accept Instruction and Gain Wisdom

2006-08-15T16:43:00.000-05:00

My first article for Regenerate Our Culture Magazine appeared in today's issue. Entitled Accept Instruction and Gain Wisdom, it seeks to help you value what your parents have to say.

Here is an excerpt:

After days of debating over healthy organic feed versus conventional chemical-laden feed, I finally conceded and came to the realization that, since this is our first experience with raising poultry, it would be best to make the process as streamlined as possible. By using the pre-mixed feed, there would be less chance of death and disease and a better chance of survival and adequate nutrition (we couldn’t make mistakes by forgetting to add the vitamins, for example).

Now, after four weeks of chicken chores, I am remembering the arguments Dad and I had. And I say to myself, “Boy, am I glad we aren’t grinding the feed ourselves; those birds have been trouble enough! I don’t want any more to die, and I certainly don’t want any extra tasks!”

Be sure to read the complete article as well as the other fine features in this Back to School issue of Regenerate Our Culture Magazine.

Touring D.C.

2006-08-05T16:36:00.000-05:00

My brother Ian and I will be taking a bus trip to our nation's
capital from August 7-13.
It is through Key Ministires, a local group that provides tours and bus service to churches, homeschoolers and other members of the community.
The cost: $150/person
We are going with a few friends and will see as many museums, monuments and historic places as we can. It promises to be a great time!

Reading: a thing in itself

2006-07-31T16:46:00.000-05:00

While he was an Ambassador to Russia in 1811, John Quincy Adams wrote in a letter to his son:

I hope you have now arrived at an age to understand that reading, even in the Bible, is a thing in itself, neither good nor bad, but that all the good which can be drawn from it, is by the use and improvement of what you have read, with the help of your own reflections. Young people sometimes boast of how many books, and how much they have read; when, instead of boasting, they ought to be ashamed of having wasted so much time, to so little profit. I advise you, my son, in whatever you read, and most of all in reading the Bible, to remember that it is for the purpose of making you wiser and more virtuous.

Even though I have a hard time digesting the part about being ashamed of reading a lot of books, I find that I agree in spite of myself, because of what value is reading if the lessons learned are not taken to heart and put to use every day in one’s own life?

You may have seen the article on the sidebar titled “A look back on my Vassal’s Guild” about the servitude book club I and a few friends did. If you read it I’m sure you noticed that we went through those books for a reason: so we could observe the examples of the characters, realize where each of us fails, and then apply the lessons learned to our own lives. This is the way Mr. Adams is telling his son to read. Books are full of meaning and we have to know how to use what we read.

It turns out that the way a person thinks and what he thinks about cannot help but appear in his writing; thus an author’s worldview will become apparent when you read carefully and observantly. “Reading speed is totally irrelevant,” notes James Sire, author of How to Read Slowly. “If you think you can learn to read well without [re-reading often] I ask you to re-read anyway. I am not insulting your intelligence by doing this. Good readers re-read many things many times.” And when you do this, besides catching details you would miss reading fast, you uncover the message the author has placed there, perhaps unconsciously. You will be able to tell what they think about God, creation, the purpose of living, the family, money and education.

Depending on who you are and what your worldview is, you may or may not agree with what is being revealed. As a Christian who believes in the sanctity of marriage, I would like to thank Gene Stratton-Porter for stating-through Leslie-in Michael O’Halloran: “It’s my opinion that modern marriage would be more satisfactory if the engaged parties would not come so nearly being married, for so long before they are. There is so little left for afterward, in most cases, that it soon grows monotonous.” Indeed she says it plain and clear, what today’s youth need so badly to hear.

With fiction the reader has to look for the worldview while with other kinds of writing it is easier to spot. Take a biographical volume as an example. In The Letters and Lessons of Theodore Roosevelt for His Sons Doug Phillips has compiled the writings of our most beloved president to form not only a history of TR but also a guidebook for a boy’s life. (It is published by Vision Forum, along with The Bible Lessons of John Quincy Adams for His Son.) Teddy wrote straight from his manly heart about school, sporting, behavior, and life events in letters to his sons while they were separated. Here he tells “Blessed Old Ted:”

The thing to do while at Harvard is to attract as little attention as possible, do not make a fuss about the newspaper men and camera creatures by letting it be seen that you do not like them. I believe it is just an unpleasant thing that you will have to live down. Ted, I have had an enormous amount of unpleasant things that I have had to live down in my life at different times and you have begun to have them now. (paraphrased)

TR bestowed advice and gave encouragement, all while holding firm convictions which he makes plain in his letters, essays and autobiographical memoirs included in this book. Under such titles as The Vigor of Life and Character & Success his boyhood, life as a cowboy, adventures and presidency are recounted for the reader. I want to include a few of my favorite lines from these insightful sections.

What we need is to turn out of our colleges young men with ardent convictions on the side of the right; not young men who can make a good argument for either right or wrong as their interest bids them. (page 177)

But a man whose business is sedentary should get some kind of exercise if he wishes to keep himself in as good physical trim as his brethren who do manual labor. (page 198)

No community is healthy where it is ever necessary to distinguish one politician among his fellows because “he is honest.” (page 290)

Here opinion is expressed outright and again I highlighted these sentences because I agree with them. Whether a different reader would agree with them--for instance you--depends upon your (that’s right) worldview: your beliefs about everything at large and these subjects in particular (lawyers, physical fitness, honesty).

Another type of literature I especially enjoy is theology. Or---better---books talking flat out about Christianity. They say what they believe and believe what they say. One doesn’t have to dig much farther than the Foreword to discover the writer’s worldview but that’s a good thing because it allows Believers to read books that will build their faith without flipping through a shelf of rubbish.

Right now I am reading the C.S. Lewis classic Mere Christianity. Even though I have probably underlined nearly forty percent of this amazing manuscript, I am left speechless with how to describe it and unsure of which part to quote to you. It is obvious what Lewis believes--what his worldview is--but it is even more obvious what he wants us to believe: the truth about the Faith. “We are living in a part of the universe occupied by the rebel. Enemy-occupied territory--that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.” A holy war with a glorious rapture and a happy ending--or non-ending; at any rate it will only be happy and glorious for those who place their lives in Christ’s hands. That is what it’s all about.

But yet all the small details of life on earth must not be forgotten. As a homeschooler you realize how important it is to train up children in a Godly way as they are the leaders of the future. Dr. Wess Stafford, president of Compassion International, a ministry to impoverished children, knows that also and pleads on behalf of all children in a book written directly to Christians. He urges us to turn a hearing ear to the problems they are facing and reminds us that they are Too Small to Ignore. Dr. Stafford grew up as a missionary kid in West Africa and experienced poverty, abuse and bewilderment first hand. “Now when I speak to audiences, I often say that everything I really need to lead a worldwide child-development ministry I learned from the poor themselves…they taught me what matters most.” So in this published plea he shares what he learned, tells about his life, and plainly yet masterfully explains why he believes it is so important that American Christians wake up to the needs of children, both those under their roofs and those with no roof at all. He shows how we can make a difference in the life of a child, and states that--while it does take money--it also requires much more. This book was actually a very sad read because of the child abuse portrayed but the message is so important that I must say one thing: even if you don’t read any other title I have mentioned, please make sure you read this book. It will change the way you view children--and the world’s problems--in a very positive and Biblical way.

And now since I am not confident that the main point has been understood clearly amid all the distraction of quoting different authors I will state it again and conclude the thoughts: reading is a thing in itself, neither good nor bad, but all the good which can be drawn from it is by the use and improvement of what you have read. Therefore learn to read critically, alertly and slowly, making note of the author’s worldview—his or her beliefs and values. In non-fiction it is easy to spot as the author may state what he believes outright, trying to convert you. (This is nothing to be afraid of as long as the author is a Christian. If he is not, you may want to read anyway but proceed with caution.)

In fiction an author’s beliefs may be hidden: sometimes they will be easy to uncover while at others they will remain a mystery. But some hint will surface if you watch closely, and you will become a little more mature. Thus, reading lots of book is nothing to be ashamed of if you read for the right reason. Armed with the knowledge that comes from careful and deliberate book learning you will be able to make wise, educated and Biblically sound decisions in your journey called Life.

There are so many good books to read and think about: if you love pondering the messages presented in various types of literature, I’d like to hear what your thoughts are and what your favorite books happen to be. Please post a comment or contact me for further discussion: sdwillard@gmail.com

Strong governments

2006-07-19T11:46:00.000-05:00

Be sure to read Joel Belz's column in the July 22 issue of WORLD Magazine.

It's right on, and I heartily agree that people want to be lightly governed by strong governments.

Announcement: Thanks for caring (and praying)

2006-07-15T10:56:00.000-05:00

You all asked about it. Over and over your inquiring lips wanted to know how it turned out. I said "They will announce it in June or early July." Was I accepted to be an intern at Vision Forum next fall?

No. Here's why: "We received over 40 applications and were extremely challenged to choose this years class," writes Kevin Turley, director of operations at Vision Forum. "Regretfully, we can only take a few men."

And since the eligible ages are 18-24 and I am on the youngest end, the older men who have probably tried to get the position before should of course receive priority.

Mr. Turley continues, "Even though we will not be laboring together this year, please know we were encouraged by the brief time we were able to talk to all of you and look for great things in your future. How encouraging it is to know that there are young men living a conscious, dedicated life for the Lord!"

I agree. Perhaps next year the time will be right. Thanks for caring, asking, and praying.

Chickens

2006-07-06T13:46:00.000-05:00

Early Monday morning, our little chicks arrived at the post office. We decided to try raising chickens for meat and for eggs, but this is a new experience for our family, so it will be interesting to see how we do.

Back when I was publishing The Recipe Monthly, Ian liked to write poems for the covers that reflected what the food theme for that month was. Here's the one he penned for the Chicken issue...

I’m hungry for chicken,

But what should I do?

I ain’t a rich man,

And that ‘tis totally true.

I ain’t got ‘nuff money

To buy an ‘pensive cookbook

And with no directions

I can’t even cook.

I ain’t got ‘nuff money

To go to a restaurant

Or buy a precooked chicken

At the store, but please don’t taunt...

The Recipe Monthly

Is cheap and it’s good;

Well I’ll raise my own chickens,

To eat like I should!

They'll be ready to butcher this fall-Dad's looking forward to some great meals!

Remember the Men in Uniform

2006-07-04T09:47:00.000-05:00

I do not usually read forwards and chain mail, but this one--since it wasn't messily-typed and junky looking--caught my attention. And it kept it.

This Independence Day, I hope you will take more than a moment to remember our men stationed around the world fighting for our country. Regradless of your views on the war, Bush, and domestic spying, we all still have a duty to "support our troops." May this open your mind to the sacrifice thousands of young men are making. Young men hardly older then me...

The average age of the military man is 20 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy beer, but old enough to die for his country.

He never really cared much for work, but he has never collected unemployment either. He's a little selfish and would rather wax his own car than wash his father's.
He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a "nothing special", has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll, country, hip-hop or jazz.

He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade and use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity.

He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.

He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death then he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.

He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. He is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years. He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.

Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. After you read this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops stationed the world over. Pray that they will be protected, that their families will be blessed, and tell Yahweh you are thankful for men who are willing to die for our freedom.

It was fun and fun is good

2006-07-03T16:57:00.000-05:00

I had a window seat and the pilot flew low enough that I was able to enjoy some great scenery on the flight back home. I saw the Virginia, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin countryside and also enjoyed being ontop of Lake Erie and Lake Michigan.

We did not completely finish our newspaper on Friday night, simply because we ran out of time. Even being allowed to work an extra hour did not fill the blank spaces on two of the pages. But the awards ceremony actually favored our colony (or small group, which consisted of five boys) by giving us the following prizes:

1. Highest Total of Points earned during the week by having ultra-clean rooms, always getting to meals on time, and winning many of the games--Rhode Island Colony

2. Second Best Skit which mimicked the personalities of Nathan & Lisa, two of the funnest counselors ever--Rhode Island Colony

3. The Roger Sherman Award for Servitude and Humility shown to other campers throughout the week--Jonathan Arena, Rhode Island Colony

4. The Thomas Jefferson Award for Creativity in Writing--Joseph Clay, Rhode Island Colony

5. Best Feature Story for an interview with Gene Edward Veith--Jonathan Arena of The Rhode Island Rambler

6. Best Overall Newspaper because of the clean layout, stylish design, sound articles, and opinion page consisting of an editorial (by Seth D.), news cartoon, and letter to the editor--THE RHODE ISLAND RAMBLER

I was extremely surprised that we received such a large amount of awards. I must say that the other colonies did a great job on their papers as well; for instance, the ladies who won for best news story and best editorial definitely deserved it, as did the other students who got Jefferson-type awards. And the skit that placed in front of ours was obviously superior-a very humorous (and accurate!) representation of Lisa's character.

Nevertheless, we walked off the stage with certificates, Patrick Henry pennants, and a party-in-a-bag that made me appreciate the fun week I had and the new friends I made. While I still don't know exactly what career I will end up in-or what college I will go to-I can say with certainty that I'm glad I went to Journalism Camp.

Final Hour Time Crunch

2006-06-30T14:09:00.000-05:00

Everyone is frantically at work in the news room (aka computer lab) as we try to finish up our stories and columns before the 5:00 PM deadline this afternoon.

Progress is slow on the layout, partly because most of the features to go into The Rhode Island Rambler, our colony's newspaper, aren't finished yet. The other reason is that it is very hard to paginate a publication in Word.

This morning we heard from Bill Mattox, Jr. who is a widely published freelance writer. He talked about writing columns and opinion pieces, as well as marketing your work and dealing with rejection. He ate lunch with our group and was able to answer many questions-I found his advice especially helpful since this is more the genre of writing I like.

In class this week we also discussed the ethics of journalism and how to write concisely. Tonight is the closing ceremony and awards for best stories, layout and overall paper.

I will be flying back to Minnesota tomorrow and am looking forward to enjoying the time off for Independence Day.

A Biblical Approach to News

2006-06-27T19:32:00.000-05:00

Right now I'm in the computer lab at Patrick Henry College. I have time on my hands and nothing to do (well, not quite) because we are done with supper and it is raining outside. I just realized that there is no reason why I can't update the blog, so I will proceed to fill you in with what I have been learning.

According to Dr. Les Sillars, professor of journalism at PHC, journalism refers specifically to writing news stories. Other types of writing don't really fall into the same category, so specialty magazines and newsletters like I am used to require less journalism skills and more writing experience. So it has taken substantial effort on my part to switch my focus from columns and essays to hard news and feature stories like we are expected to produce here.

(BTW: there are also 20 giggling girls in the computer lab. They are very distracting!)

Yesterday, Dr. Sillars explained that for something to be news, it must have happened recently, be out of the ordinary, be relevant to people's lives and be something that they what to know. Then the audience will talk about what they have read, believe or not believe it, form an opinion, and possibly act upon it. Or, if the story was uninteresting, readers will forget about it. But the main thing people do with news is build mental maps (worldviews). And it is the job of Christian journalists to help them build accurate mental maps.

David Aikman, former foreign correspondent for TIME magazine, was brought in as a guest and said not to go into journalism unless you are passionate about reporting the news. You will have to put up with many "unpleasant people" (like if you have to conduct an interview with a prisoner or terrorist.) There are also many rude people that will not be willing to give information. "It's a very absorbing, compelling career," Dr. Aikman emphasized. "But it can also be tremendous fun. You are a fly on the mixing bowl of history and you get to meet many interesting people ."

Today we heard from the cultural editor of WORLD magazine, Gene Edward Veith. He talked about how American pop culture is tearing down traditional values. The notes from this lecture will be very helpful to me as I join the staff of Regenerate Our Culture Magazine. A highlight of the morning was shaking his hand and letting him autograph my copy of his book Christians in a .com World. I also handed him the issue of World magazine in which his last column appeared. He is moving from his position at the popular newsmagazine to become an Academic Dean here at Patrick Henry. The special part is that Dr. Veith hadn't even seen his last column in print so it was through me that he read his farewell issue. (Dr. Veith's columns will continue to appear monthly.)

This has been difficult to write because I am not used to working on a computer with so many other people. I will try to give ya'll another update later this week, but we will see about that...

Garden Update

2006-06-24T17:26:00.000-05:00

I am on my way out the door to go to Journalism Camp at Patrick Henry College (Virginia) this next week. I am really looking forward to it, as I will be able to find out if I like to write enough to make it my career. I'll tell ya'll what I learned once I get back...yes, I am having a hard time collecting my thoughts from the CHEC conference; I still want to put my recap on here, but I just couldn't get it done this week...thanks for being patient with me!

Despite being very busy with organizing a Generation Joshua club, traveling, writing, working, and getting ready for the chickens to arrive, we have been able to maintain our garden. In fact, it's looking better than it ever has and the great part is, it's almost COMPLETELY ORGANIC!

That's right, excepting the mini pumpkins and tomato plants, the rest was started from certified organic seed from Seeds of Change. We're hoping that the lush plants will bear bountiful fruit, especially considering that potatoes and broccoli are new to our garden. I thought you might enjoy a few pictures of our plot...

carrots, the path, lettuce, peas, bean fences, corn

broccoli in foreground, peas in back

the broccoli plants

the potato patch

I will be coming home on July 1, so until then, enjoy your summer and may Yahweh bless you!

Generation Joshua club forming in Minnesota

2006-06-21T18:34:00.000-05:00

Below is a letter I sent to our homeschool group. It talks about our reasons for starting a Generation Joshua club. I will try to get my CHEC conference recap on here by Friday...

Dear families,

How involved are your high school students in the civic and political arenas?

Do the teenagers in your household know their role as citizens of the United States?

Are you and your kids actively praying for this country in obedience to the exhortation of II Chronicles 7:14?

“If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Right now, my brother Ian and I are working to spread the message to other students in the central Minnesota area that they need to answer positive to the above questions. Here’s why: In America today, battles are being waged over many issues—from judicial activism to attacks on traditional marriage to the moral disintegration of our society. In the midst of the battles, we can lose sight of where our nation has come from, and these pressing concerns could crush our hope for America’s future.

John Winthrop, then governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, wrote in 1630 concerning New England and America: “We shall be as a City upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.” He warned that “if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.”

As homeschoolers and Christians, we want America to be a city on a hill. We want this country to return to her Judeo-Christian foundations. We want our fellow young people to become citizens who are educated and practiced in their role within society. And we want to inspire others with the kind of faith that sees beyond our present circumstances to what America can become—if each of us consistently impacts our sphere of influence for Christ and His glory.

That is why Ian and I decided to start a Generation Joshua club in Minnesota. In addition to the 40 clubs already meeting in various states, others like ours are in the process of being formed throughout the country. These clubs operate under the supervision of the Generation Joshua project which was launched in 2003 by Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). The purpose of this project is to teach young people to be effective, well-rounded citizens and to equip them with the tools necessary to maintain liberty and the exercise of self government.

Each club consists of Christian young people between the ages of 11 and 18 who are interested in learning more about the governing process of the U.S., gaining experience in electing candidates, and becoming a force in the civic and political arenas.

These clubs are organized with the purpose of

1. Creating a forum for training club members in Biblical citizenship

2. Establishing a grassroots network of active students who can participate in the campaigns of conservative candidates

3. Opening up opportunities for Generation Joshua members to get to know and work with other members (see below for what it means to be a GenJ member)

As a club we are required to conduct monthly meetings; the dates and location of these meetings has not been decided. At the meetings we will follow the official agenda which includes the following highlights:

1. Pray for the nation, her leaders and her inhabitants

2. Discuss current events in relation to Scripture

3. Listen to a Guest Speaker or member give a presentation

4. Hear the monthly reports from the treasurer, secretary and involvement committees

The club will also be working together on projects outside the meetings. Activities may include participating in voter registration drives, campaigning for conservative candidates, writing letters to elected officials, lobbying at the Capitol and helping on community service projects.

Now here’s the scoop:

To join our club, you must be a member of the national Generation Joshua program. This means that you have registered with the Generation Joshua office and paid your dues which are $10 per student/year if your family is an HSLDA member family and $20 per student/year if your family is not.

Also understand what I did not yet cover: when you pay your dues, you are paying for access to the Generation Joshua website which has actual civics, government, and history courses you can take as part of your schoolwork (i.e. instead of doing Bob Jones textbooks). What you do is read the lessons online or print them out, take a quiz once you’ve read the material, and then show it to your parents who will grade your work and give you high school “credits” for the class. Note: GenJ does not issue credits or check to see that you’ve done your work on the lessons. It is up to you and your parents to decide what you should do and judge how well you did.

It is important to us as club leaders that our members take part in at least some of the online classes. What they teach is vital to the mission of our organization and we want our members to get as much out of their GenJ experience as possible.

With Generation Joshua students can make a difference!

It’s a proven fact. In 2004, out of the 13 political races GenJ students were involved with, 11 were victories. Plus, the winners of some of those elections actually verbally attributed their success to Generation Joshua!

Of course the motivation for joining GenJ is not to get certain candidates in office. Rather it is what I said before, to become inspired with the kind of faith that sees beyond our present circumstances to what America can become if each of us impacts our sphere of influence for Christ’s glory.

Now, in order for us to start a club, we need at least five members. Ian and I make two. So the first three people who contact me and pledge to join our club will be listed as founding members on the club application form we are sending into headquarters! Also, there are currently not any clubs meeting in Minnesota; there may be one or two forming, I do not know. But if we get the paperwork taken care of this week, we may just be the first GenJ club in Minnesota!

Students, if you are interested at all in what I have been talking about here, I encourage you to consider joining our Generation Joshua club. Please drop me a line as soon as possible so that I can instruct you on how to sign up for GenJ. Also, I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

Persevero,

Seth D. Willard

Chairman

Minnesota Generation Joshua Club (www.generationjoshua.org)

Colorado, here I come

2006-06-14T05:55:00.000-05:00

I will not be able to blog for the next few days as Mom and I are headed to Denver to attend the Christian Home Educators of Colorado conference.

The line-up of speakers includes:

Doug Phillips
Scott Brown
Kevin Swanson
R.C. Sproul Jr.
Gregg Harris
Mark Hamby
Little Bear Wheeler
Scott & Marcia Somerville
Debra Bell
Zan Tyler

I really appreciate these great Christian servants and feel like it is worth the 17-hour drive to see, hear and meet some of them.

A conference recap will appear here next week...

Accepted!

2006-06-10T18:08:00.000-05:00

I was recently chosen to be a staff writer for Regenerate Our Culture Magazine. I want to thank the board of directors at this great Christian organization for selecting me. Here is what I wrote on the application form for why I want to join the staff of ROC:

“I would like to become a staff writer for Regenerate Our Culture Magazine for a couple of reasons. First, I deeply believe that ROC is a project led by Yahweh (the LORD) and dedicated to His glory. He is working through this blogging community to bring about a revival, and it would be such an honor for me to be used by Him in this way. If He needs me to write articles for on online magazine, I'll do it happily.

I also see this as a great opportunity to reach out to others. There is a large audience reading the features in the ROC magazine, and so the potential is large as well. The potential to spread the Truth with many people and help them live more simple, separate and deliberate lives for our Father's glory. The potential to help them develop a Biblical worldview; the potential to help them understand scripture; the potential to make them more knowledgeable citizens and wiser followers of Christ. The potential to truly regenerate our culture, renew our society, and reform, recover, and re-organize for HIM is in front of us. What a task...what an awesome job we have to do!

Getting back to the question of why I should be the one to write for you, my answer is that I want to serve my father Yahweh through writing-that is really my life's mission. If He wants me here, He'll land me the job. If not, that must be His will instead; wherever I get placed is fine! To HIM be all glory and honor and praise for ever and ever…”

I’m not sure when my first article will appear in the online magazine although I do know it will be at least a month. Hold tight…

Tassels and Party Peanuts

2006-06-05T15:36:00.000-05:00

Although it has been nearly a month since I last posted, I didn't break any major records considering the fact that many blogs have not been updated much lately. It's not really the right season to sit indoors at the computer, as I'm sure all my readers know, so that's where my excuse takes affect!

And yes...that's the other reason! I graduated from highschool at home on May 28 with a private commencement ceremony and public open house in our Young Stock Barn meeting center. I want to say a big huge thank you to everyone that helped in any way (especially Connie, Warren, Grandpas Ken & Jack, aunts, uncle Tim and cousins and Adele & Charis). And also I want to say again to everyone that came: I am deeply humbled and grateful and appreciate your love and support more than I can express. You all mean so much to me and I am blessed exceedingly to have you in my life. May Yahweh bless you all.

After watching the video last night and looking at the photographs, I realized that the Occasion turned out to be exactly what I wanted it to be. And it's because of the folks I shared the day with. If you haden't come, it wouldn't have been so special. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Walking up the stairs to Pomp and Circumstance

Relatives and close friends at the ceremony

Friend Warren R. played the keyboard

Me and the prize certifying 12 years at TRUTH Academy

A race no one can win

2006-05-10T16:22:00.000-05:00

A guest post by Lowell Anderson as seen in the May 5, 2006 edition of the Echo Press.

While driving past a convenience store recently, I read a sign that said, “Honk if you like peace and quiet.”

It’s an amusing sign, yet it also tells us a lot about our lives and our society.

Although we yearn for happiness, simplicity, and meaning, most of us are doing the exact opposite of what we should do to achieve those goals.

Big-city life is often referred to as the “rat race.” Yet in reality, almost all of us are running the same race, a race that no one can win.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of being a rat. I’m tired of the constant busyness and the never-ending quest for more money and things. I’m tired of the cell phones, computers and TVs that steal our lives. I’m sick of the advertisers that tell me that I’ll be ugly and unpopular if I don’t buy their products. And I’m fed up with today’s constant attack on anything traditional or moral.

I want to go back to the “good ol’ days.”

Yeah, I know, “the good ol’ days” weren’t always good. People worked very hard, often from sunrise to sunset. People suffered and often died young. They had many of the same problems we have now: wars, crime, corruption and disease. Worst of all, they had teeth pulled with no painkillers.

Yet those days were better in many ways. They had many things that we have lost, such as simplicity, a sense of purpose and a clear sense of right and wrong. And though most people struggled to survive, I believe they had a happiness that came not from pleasure, but from doing meaningful work and focusing on the process of living. Back then, if you had something to eat, clothes to wear and a roof over your head, then you were happy.

In our modern technologically advanced and wealthy society you would think almost everyone would be happy, yet many aren’t. And it’s no wonder, since we are told over and over that we deserve and should have everything we want – and that we should want whatever everyone else has. It’s no wonder that many people, who would be considered wealthy by much of the world, think of themselves as poor and underprivileged. If happiness is linked to getting more, how can we ever have enough?

I think many people yearn for a simpler life. Yet what’s perplexing is how hard we work to make our lives as complex as possible.

We clutter our lives with e-mail that needs to be monitored, computers that need to be endlessly updated, constant bad news, a never-ending list of things to do, and meaningless activities such as shopping or watching TV. And we buy endless lists of things that promise to make us happy, but which only end up needing to be stored, maintained and figured out.

Although technology can be good, it has a tendency to control us and degrade our lives if we let it. Think about cell phones, for example. Think of all the people driving with a cell phone glued to their ear, all the obnoxious conversations we don’t want to hear, phones ringing at the theater, children trying to ride their bikes while talking on a phone, and all the people who are deathly afraid to be out-of-touch for even a single second.

I would like to live in a simpler time: A time where people talked to each other directly; where they weren’t constantly afraid of accidents or disease; where parents took care of their own children and taught them right and wrong; where people were committed to each other no matter what; where we were given permission to be imperfect; where we focused more on people than on things.

That time doesn’t have to be long ago. It could be now. But first we would have to start thinking instead of just copying what everyone else is doing. We would have to get over the idea that things and money bring happiness, and that success is having a big house, new car and a big retirement account. We would have to shut off the computer, the TV, and cell phone and start living in the real world, interacting with nature and real people. And we would need to simplify our lives so that we could focus on what is really important.

If we can’t go back, maybe we could at least quit honking at the sign for awhile.

Oh Joy! It's May!

2006-05-01T16:39:00.000-05:00

April showers bring May flowers, and that is so exciting because it also brings greener grass which is good (get it? I'll be blogging again) and bad (the lawn needs mowed). So to start off, let me just fill you in with what's been going on in my life, and what I'm thinking about.

First of all, I took the ACT test again and am real happy with my score which is exactly what I was hoping for. Now I don't have to think about that anymore! My brother and I went to the MACHE conference for homeschoolers and took part in the Generation Joshua teen track, which ignited our desire to get involved in politics and campaigning. We are considering helping our local sheriff in his race for the senate this fall, but are still praying about that. Now that Vassal's Guild is done, I'd really like to get a GenJ club together, which would hopefully be the first in Minnesota. As for next year's conference, I've asked Alex and Brett about doing the Rebelution tour as the teen track, but they are still thinking about that...

I will graduate from high school in a private ceremony at our place on May 28, and so I have been busy lining up all the details for the big day. I've applied to become an intern at Vision Forum, and if I get accepted (which I don't find out until June) I'll be in San Antonio from August 1 thru December 20. If I don't get accepted I will be home next year, taking distance learning classes with Patrick Henry College. In October (again, if I'm here) Harold & Stephen Mally will be coming up to Alexandria, MN to put on a Just Men conference. That's right, I'm heading it up!

We submitted an application for a $2500 scholarship from UNICEL, which should be announced soon…also I sent in an article to Every Thought Captive, newsletter of the Highlands Study Center, of which R.C. Sproul Jr. is founder. I’m hoping it gets included in one of the next issues. I entered an essay in the Secrets of Great Communicators essay contest and am waiting to hear back about that. The website to enter it on is sort of wacky, so I hope they got mine...there's a good chance not too many essays were entered, so I think it has a chance of winning.

On the same note, I had a regular column in our homeschool group’s bimonthly newsletter and really enjoyed reaching out and sharing my thoughts with others…I wrote two letters to two different newspaper editors last month, one about Wal-Mart Supercenters and the other about how to get to heaven (!). The Rebelution is looking for guest writers and Regenerate Our Culture Magazine is seeking out staff writers. I’m going to apply to both and then pray that Yahweh’s will is done.

I’ll be attending Journalism Camp at Patrick Henry this summer, and I’m trying to coordinate a way to visit with Mr. Mark Hamby at Lamplighter Publishing (Pennsylvania) as part of the same trip. I have the student handbook I put together for Vassal’s Guild that he wants to look at, as he is considering publishing it.

We are getting chickens for eggs and meat right after graduation, and since this is a new experience, I am overwhelmed with feelings of uncertainty and naivety. Our friends the Kiemles have been helping us a lot, which has really been nice, and doors have been opened like when Grandpa found a cage at Roger’s Ram Auction that will hold all of them in the pasture. It was only $7.50-a huge bargain as we won’t have to spend the time or money building one. He also got a feed grinder real cheap, and we are looking into organic corn, soybeans, and supplements for the bird’s diet. Speaking of which, our vegetable garden will be almost completely ORGANIC this season, as we found a wonderful selection at Seeds of Chang e…more on that as the plants mature.

I haven’t even covered everything…but the rest can wait. Yes, this was very choppy, not at all an example of good writing. But sometimes that’s OK, like when it’s more important to clear one’s mind than to articulate clearly. After all, you just witnessed a direct result of the grazing, musing and wandering…You know how it goes. Thanks for reading, in spite of bad grammar!

Break-Time

2006-04-17T15:40:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be taking a break from blogging for the rest of April. We'll be picking back up in May with plenty of articles, pictures and Zest chapters. Note: the April recipes for TRM will be on here in a few weeks.

See you then!

7-With Zest in Life

2006-04-10T10:57:00.000-05:00

Chapter 7 | Yellow Bunny

When they arrived home that evening, both Little White Bear and Blue Bear were very tired from their journey and had a lot on their minds. Because of this, they were not the ones to notice that a drab-yellow bunny with long ears and a short tail had followed them home from the meadow.

After each going into his own apartment, the bunny waited outside for LWBB to come back. Finally, in the bright, clear sunlight of the new day, Little White Bear stepped outside for his morning walk. He was surprised when he saw her, just a lonely little thing with curious eyes, and a wavering pink nose. He thought “Why didn’t she run away when I came out here? A normal bunny would be so shy, she would not delay her flee long enough to see who was approaching.

“Let me see if I can get her to come to me; maybe I should bring her to Nie so she can take care of her. Wait, would Nie want her? I think so. But perhaps I’d better check first.”

So Little White Bear started on his way. He had decided not to pick the bunny up but to go ask Nie first and find out what he should do from her. When he arrived at her well established and elegant new home, he was surprised to find that the drab yellow bunny had followed him all the way there! “Well,” he said out loud to himself, “I guess I don’t have to ask for help in bringing her here. She came on her own!”

Nie opened the door in jest after only one series of knocks. “Hello, do come in, Little White Bear and sit down. Have you had breakfast yet? And why are you here so early, and on the Sabbath, of all days! You know there is no school on the Sabbath, don’t you?” she eyed him skeptically. “The Sabbath is a day set apart by Yahweh, our Creator. On that day, we are not to do any work and not make anyone else do any either. That includes school in most cases. It is a day that is to be kept holy. You knew that, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yes indeed, Aunty, but you see, I have something to tell you. Or more or less show you. Let’s go out into the garden for a moment, can we?”

Nie, hand in hand with Little White Bear, was wondering around through the rows of green beans, slowly winding their ways up the poles and the peas, oh, such delicate little plants. They came to the sweet corn and sunflowers, and saw the row of vegetables that LWBB had planted all by themselves that spring. Radishes inter-planted with carrots and lettuce on the end.

“Well, look at that cute little bunny!” Nie exclaimed, “But how dirty she is.”

“When I first saw her, I thought so too,” Little White Bear agreed.

“You’ve seen this bunny before?” questioned Nie.“The same one? What are you talking about, Little White Bear?”

So Little White Bear told her all about coming home from the meadow and finding the bunny on the doorstep only that morning and his decision to come to her to get help in bringing the bunny back but instead, she just followed him right to her house!

“So I knocked on your door and tried to tell you about it then, but you were the one doing all the talking until we finally got out here in the garden so you could just see it for yourself.”

Nie decided it would be best to bring the drab yellow bunny into her house and clean her up.

“But Nie,” Little White Bear complained, “It’s the Sabbath, remember? And you said that we aren’t supposed to do any work on the Sabbath. Don’t you think you should wait to start until after sunset?”

You’re right, Little White Bear, but you see, if the task that lays ahead is something you want to do and it would be enjoyable, rather that something that takes a lot of work, it’s all right to do it, just as long as you stop when you grow tired and it starts feeling like a lot of work,” Nie explained.

They spent the next hour washing the bunny off and making her squeaky clean. Nie had found some mild, sweet smelling soap to use and when the bunny was all dry and comfortable, Nie gave Little White Bear permission to let Yellow Bunny outside to hop around and sniff in the garden.

“Is that her name?” asked Little White Bear.

“Yes, it is now,” replied Nie. “Yellow Bunny looks a lot brighter than she did when you brought her to me this morning, doesn’t she?”

“Do you know what I am going to do?” asked Nie.

“No, I don’t. What?” came the question in return.

“I am going to keep Yellow Bunny here with me and teach her to say words like I taught you and Blue Bear. She will attend my homeschool to learn and play, just as you and Blue Bear are already doing.”

“What a good idea,” thought LWB.

The People Hardest to Love cont'd

2006-04-07T13:27:00.000-05:00

Part 2 (click here to read the first part)
Another reason why the people closest to us are the hardest to love is that these close relationships force us to be authentic. When your boss spills his drink on your new sofa, you can give him a fake smile and tell him to forget about it. You may hate him with everything that is in you, but nobody’s going to know. For the carefully engineered distance required in business relationships is seldom violated. Now if your child spills his drink, you can bet he’s not getting the fake smile. Relationship forces authenticity in our love or in the failure to love.

The replacement of relationships with institutions has had far-reaching consequences in the ways we educate, work, and congregate in the modern world. As one seminary professor of pastoral theology told his young pastors-in-training, “If you want a friend, get a dog.” In a relationship-starved culture, pastors are not friends, but they know how to speak to crowds. Counselors are professional and they get paid by the hour. And educators are mere academicians and they avoid relationships, discipleship, and character training at all costs. But Jesus broke the paradigm when he called the disciples his “friends.” Then they abandoned him in his trial. So He went and died for such unfriendly treachery and sin. That is friendship.

Unfortunately, most charity in the modern world is distributed without relationship and the end results are devastating. Billions of dollars are transferred to the poor through complex bureaucratic channels in both private and public means of disposal. There is little accountability between the giver and the receiver, and much of it is redistributed wealth in the Marxist model. In contrast, Biblical charity is almost always distributed by personal involvement including “visiting” the orphan (James 1:27) and direct hospitality for the widow and orphan (Deuteronomy 16:11).

We have come to live in a world largely void of relationship because our institutions and our educational institutions in particular have trained us to live that way. Plainly, this life we live has been structured around the worldview of men like Rousseau who didn’t agree with Jesus. A world of institutions without relationship is a world designed to function without love, and that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his life for us, so that we might sacrifice our lives for others. As we begin to rediscover a Biblical worldview, this will drive a realignment of our life view: the way we live, the way we love, and the way we relate to others.

There is no better place to begin working on the restoration of relationships than in the family, and there is no better time to start than when children are young. While homeschooling may not be the only way to restore relationships to education and life in the modern age, it is one giant step in that direction. I know of no other social change happening anywhere in the world that promises to undo Rousseau’s model and renew relationships. But be forewarned. Relationships can be frightening. As I leave the institutional world of engineered distances behind, I find relationship to be challenging, warm, unpredictable, wonderfully rewarding, always changing, humbling, risky, demanding, sanctifying, and requiring much faith and wisdom. In my life, I have built many things – mechanical, electrical, institutional, and political. But as I build relationships, I think I’m beginning to understand what is of essence in life. I am beginning to understand who I am in relation to the One who made me. I know a little more about what God meant when he said, “I will be your God, and you will be my people.”

Copyright Kevin Swanson. 720-842-4852 www.chec.org www.kevinswanson.com

6-With Zest in Life

2006-04-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

Chapter 6 | Together

One day, Little White Bear said to Blue Bear “Hey Blue Bear, let’s go fishing in the stream. Once we’re done, we can go through the meadow to pick wildflowers. They will add zest to our lives. Do you want to come?”

“Absolutely, why would I not?” asked Blue Bear in return.

So they set off for the stream. When they arrived, LWBB found that since it was a warm day, the clear water felt cool and wonderful.

“This is perfect!” exclaimed Blue Bear. After a moment he added “look, I already caught a fish!”

The two bears fished and talked, and spent most of the afternoon on the banks of the stream. Sometimes one would spot a rock that he wanted to add to his collection, a rock of a special color, shape, or kind. And after awhile, once they had caught enough fish and gathered enough rocks, LWBB decided to head back, for the sun was sinking low on the horizon.

The bears remembered that they wanted to stop by the meadow to pick wildflowers. As they were plucking the stems off the plants, LWBB looked up and saw the purple and pink clouds, and the orange of the sun slowly disappearing behind the mountains. They heard the crickets chirping, and the grass swaying softly in the breeze; and feeling only their hearts beating at the majestic beauty of Yahweh’s creation, they thought “this is what we like to do…together.”

The People Hardest to Love

2006-03-31T11:30:00.000-06:00

As I said before, I do not reprint any old article I run across on this website. Rather, they quite simply must meet my standards for excellence of content and style. And this one does. Reprinted from the CHEC Homeschool Update magazine and/or KevinSwanson.com, 1st QTR, 2006, director Kevin Swanson shares why the people that we live with are the people hardest to love and why the modern methods of age segregation just don't work.

Part One
I couldn’t believe my ears. As I listened to a speaker at our recent conference, he was encouraging the audience of homeschooling mothers and fathers to try teaching other people’s children. “You will be so much nicer to other people’s children than you would be to your own,” he said. “You’ll never yell at them and you’ll work much harder to prepare good lessons.” Shocking words to the ears of homeschooling parents? Shocking but true. In one sense, this is one of the best reasons to stop homeschooling, and yet in another sense, it is one of the best reasons to keep homeschooling.

Have you ever had a family over for dinner and their three-year-old child spills his cherry drink over three square feet of your plush white living room carpet? You may have noticed how your reaction to this little child is a little more controlled than the scene that played out the week before when your three-year-old spilled his cherry drink in the same living room.

The people who are closest to you are the people hardest to love. This maxim applies to people in your own family, your own support group, and your own church. Indeed it is easier to love children from other families or people from other churches, than it is to love those that live with you. But why? I would suggest that these are the people who have the greatest potential to hurt you. Their very “closeness” will increase the stakes of loss in the relationship. The fact that our children are close to us demands a sort of involvement on our part and this in itself perpetually challenges us out of our comfort zone. Relationships with our children constantly call us away from merely educating a child in a cold academic environment to a closer, nurturing, disciple-ing environment. But this involves grappling with the complicated issues of our own sin, forgiveness, discipline, and other things that test our love.

Love requires movement towards the ones we love. It is personal involvement. The Bible speaks often of Jesus as “moved with compassion” and then he always proceeds to involvement in the problems of others. It is one thing to “love” mankind through cold institutions, and another thing to visit a widow and lovingly disciple a little child. Ironically, hardly a man wrote more prolifically about love in the 18th century as Jean Jacques Rousseau. “No one ever had more talent for loving. I was born to be the best friend that ever existed,” he would write with no small measure of hubris. Yet, here was the man that abandoned all five of his own children on the steps of an orphanage, in order that he would have the time and energy to write the book on modern institutional education. His famous book, Emile, was entirely devoted to the subject of educating a child. In his book Rousseau and Revolution, the historian Will Durant summarizes the philosopher's thoughts on education: "Rousseau wanted a system of public instruction by the state. He prescribed many years with an unmarried tutor, who would withdraw the child as much as possible from parents and relatives." Thus came the birth of our modern education system, and the modern "liberal." Garrison Keillor recently made a sardonic observation on all of those who follow in the long tradition of Rousseau, "Liberals like Curt were kind and loving to stragners, at least theoretically, adn [sic] full of warm feeling for abstract entities such as The Poor and The Oppressed and The Minority, but liberals are hard as nails on their loved ones, preaching at them and holding them to impossible standards. . . Liberals love a crowd, from a distance, and they treat their families like [manure.]"

After two hundred years of building our institutions on the worldview of Rousseau, such things as relationships and love seem to be distant concepts anymore. If love is movement, our modern institutions have worked hard to create a fixed distance between persons in family, church, and community. This is pseudo-relationship, and it is the only way the world can function without the self-sacrifice of love. Safe distance between persons is carefully engineered to a specification such that one is forbidden to cross certain boundaries without catastrophe ensuing. Our educational systems themselves lay down those limits, and this inevitably impacts marriage, the family, and the church. The distance ensured by removing a child from relationship at two years of age into daycare, by segregating families, and by compartmentalizing groups of people in school and church by age, marriage status, their “special need,” etc. assures some form of pseudo-relationship. But it doesn’t do much to create opportunity for love to operate. The engineered distance set by our institutions keeps things safe and manageable, but it certainly does not allow for the movement of love. It doesn't allow for adjusting the proximity of the relationship.

The basis of relationship then in this instutionalized world is the social or economic slot. The basis of relationship in a relationship-based world is love. Love is able to transcend slots and provide for maximum diversity without losing the unity of the body.

(click here to read part two)

5-With Zest in Life

2006-03-27T15:33:00.000-06:00

Chapter 5 | LWBB

Do you think you can guess what LWBB stands for? No? Than I’d better explain. LWB, the first three letters, stand for Little White Bear. The last two letters, which are B and B stand for Blue Bear. Now I know it’s kind of confusing at first, but if we combine LWB with BB, and then take out one of the Bs, making the two parts share a B, then we get LWBB. Still confused? Check out this algebraic looking equation:

Little White Bear + Blue Bear = LWBBB (combined)

LWBBB– B = LWBB (desired answer)

LWB + BB = LWBBB

LWBBB– B= LWBB

Do you see how it’s done? Good.

I wanted to let you know about the acronym for Little White Bear and Blue Bear because, even though the bears don’t call themselves LWBB, sometimes I will call them by it, and I wanted you to know what it means.

Coming to your neighborhood...

2006-03-22T15:37:00.000-06:00

...a Wal-Mart SUPERCENTER.

Always high costs. Always!

As of today, I can very simply go to one store and find everything I need. That's right, Wal-Mart has moved in again. They're back in my hometown of Alexandria, Minnesota, with a brand new supercenter which opens today. It's crazy...

...literally. Nobody can wait until this place throws open its doors (like it did early this morning). If I were a betting man, I'd be willing to bet that most of the people I know, and hosts of people I don't know, will visit their new Wal-Mart today. Imagine how many customers that place will attract on it's very first day of business! Mind-boggling!

My intent was to make this post of the week be about uncovering all the downsides and cons of China's eighth largest trading partner; but since I am on the run to the state capitol for a legislative training session tomorrow and Friday, I can't really write a big-long-investigative post right now.

Plus, what's the use of rewriting perfectly good articles that do just that? There are quite a few websites out there that are devoted to keeping an eye on Wal-Mart, so if the issues of welfare, taxes, outsourcing, commerce, monoplies, shopping and community support are of any interest to you, I encourage you to do a Google search for "the truth about Wal-Mart" and see what you come up with. Also these websites have alot of information:

www.walmartwatch.com
www.wakeupwalmart.com

Let me know what you find out and we can discuss it here. Of course, I realize that many people don't want to think about the bad aspects of Wal-Mart, so if that's you, I kindly ask that you keep an open mind on this subject. If you want to tell me all the good things the Waltons do for America, you have my permission to do so-but please do it graciously. (By the way, Wal-Mart has a site set up just to spread their good works message: www.walmartfacts.com. Plus all those television commercials...)

After pondering this for awhile, perhaps you'll think twice before patronizing the place that screams "We sell for Less!" Just give it time...

4-With Zest in Life

2006-03-20T14:36:00.000-06:00

Chapter 4 | The Joy of Hearing

On the days off of school, which were usually special days, Little White Bear and Blue Bear would ride their bicycles down to the park. Most of the time, they would play with the other kids; running around chasing each other, playing hide and seek, swinging, sliding, going round and round. But once in a while—on quieter days, or on extra noisy days—they would cross the bridge over the stream and head into the meadow.

Now there was a certain rock in a certain spot which Little White Bear always went to. He probably went there because the rock was flat, but maybe it was because the tree that stood over it was a most beautiful oak tree. It’s branches rustled in the breeze, dropping acorns onto the ground.

Whatever the reason, Little White Bear always sat there, and Blue Bear always followed, sitting down on the ground beside him. Then, with notepads in hand, the bears would be still. Listening to the birds chirping and the insects buzzing and to the branches rustling. They would listen to the stream flowing and the children yelling in the distance. Oh, they thought, the joy of hearing.

Blue Bear found that if you close your eyes, it makes the sounds come alive. When you hear and see something, you always pay more attention to what it looks like. But when you don’t see it, you must imagine it, and the sound it makes helps you do just that. You form a picture, and you think.

While taking all this in, the wonderful beauty of Yahweh’s creation, they liked to write. Poems usually, about butterflies on flowers or clouds moving across the sky. But sometimes they wrote other things too. Blue Bear liked to write short stories which he called “plants” because, as he said, “I write so many that they are almost as numerous as all the plants in the garden.”

Indeed they are.

March Muffin Mania

2006-03-17T15:29:00.000-06:00

Original Editorial Letter from March 2002:

Welcome to The Recipe Monthly. Spring is just around the corner and it’s the perfect time to bake up and serve a batch of Orange Poppy Seed Muffins or Sour Cream Muffins or any of the other great varieties outlined here.

Thanks for the great response, readers! We received 14 great muffin recipes and are excited to introduce to you, The Recipe Monthly’s March Muffin Mania cook-mag!

P.S. Thanks for all of the encouraging notes too!

Have Fun!

Sincerely,

Seth

Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

Cream together:

1/2 c. soft margarine

Add:

1 c. sugar

1-1/2 c. flour

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

1 T. poppy seeds

1 egg

1/2 c. yogurt or sour cream

2 t. orange juice or 2 T. grated orange peel

Bake at 400º for 17-20 minutes. Makes 1 dozen.

May serve with cream cheese butter: 3 oz. cream cheese, 1/2 c. butter, 1/4 c. powdered sugar, and some grated orange peel.

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

2-1/2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

Combine above in a large bowl and set aside. Combine the followingin a separate bowl and add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moist.

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 c. pumpkin

1/2 c. oil

Stir in 2 c. chopped apple.

Spoon into muffin cups 3/4 full.

Combine 2 T. flour

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

in small bowl.

Cut in 4 t. butter. Sprinkle streusel onto muffins. Bake at 350º for 25-35 minutes. Makes 18.

Sour Cream Muffins

Cream together:

1/4 c. soft butter

3/4 c. sugar

Add:

2 eggs—well beaten

1 t. vanilla

3/4 c. sour cream

1/4 c. milk

Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and stir into mixture.

1-1/3 c. flour 1/4 t. salt 1/2 t. soda

Pour into prepared muffin tins, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

Bake at 400º for 20 minutes. Makes 1 dozen.

Tasty Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

1 c. oats

1 c. buttermilk

Soak together in small bowl and set aside.

Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl

and set aside.

1 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. soda

1 t. salt

1 T. wheat germ

1 t. cinnamon

1/3 c. brown sugar

Put 1/2 c. oil and 1 egg in a large bowl and add flour mixture and oat/buttermilk mixture alternately. Stir just until moistened. Add 1/2 c. drained blueberries.

Pour into muffin tins and bake at 400º for 30 minutes.

Zippy Orange Crunch Muffins

2 c. flour

1/3 c. sugar

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. grape nuts cereal

Combine in a bowl, blending well. Combine in another bowl the following, adding to above all at once, stirring until moistened.

2 well beaten eggs

1 T. grated orange peel

1 c. orange juice

1/2 c. oil

Pour into muffin tins and bake at 400º for 20-25 minutes.

************

Coming up in April: Brunch is for You!

It's here!

2006-03-15T13:51:00.000-06:00

As you can see from the button to the right, Regenerate Our Culture is up and running. (if you don't see the button, click here)

It promises to be a great asset to the Christian blogosphere so I urge you to go check it out right now!

Haman, Hitler, Hussein

2006-03-14T14:33:00.000-06:00

Today is the Jewish holiday of Purim, celebrating the story of Esther and her drama with Mordacai and Haman. In the Jews for Jesus newsletter this month, director David Brickner expalins how deceit, evil and murder can all come from one bad trait: pride. I thought his article was very thought provoking and wanted to include it here for you to read. For more information about Purim, click her e or here. You may be wondering why I post articles that I didn't write, so I will answer that question. I read alot of different columns and commentaries every week and once in awhile I come across one that express my opinion or view about a particular subject(s) better that I could have myself. While I probably don't agree with every detail, the main idea is presented clearly and I appreciate that. Therefore I want others to read it, because it is so good. Also, I only include ones that I feel strongly about and that haven't been too widely distributed that you all would have read them already. Having said that, I realize that the wide variety of written works won't appeal to everyone and that you don't have time to read everything anyway. So just read what interests you and skip over the rest...

For those of you waiting for this month's Muffin recipes, I will put them on here next Friday, St. Patrick's Day. Until then, hold tight and have a blessed day!

Seth

Evil Has a Name and It Begins with "H"

Many people don't want to acknowledge that evil exists; they believe that people do bad things because circumstances or environment or conditioning leaves them no choice. Others know that evil exists but see it as a vague, unnamed malevolent force that somehow preys on innocent people. Yet history shows that evil is real and personal—and in fact, some individuals have become the very personification of evil. This month we remember one such person, and his name is Haman.

The festival of Purim, celebrated this year on March 14, commemorates God's victory over Haman's evil intentions to utterly destroy the Jewish people. Today, the feast of Purim is a lighthearted holiday traditionally celebrated by humorous enactments of the book of Esther called Purim schpiels. Noisemakers, games and delicious pastries known as hamantaschen (Haman's ears) are all part of the tradition, and many people play practical jokes similar to those on "April Fool's Day."

But the actual events of Purim, as recorded in the book of Esther, were anything but light-hearted for the Jews living at that time. The ancient world was cruel. Entire cultures and peoples were destroyed through wars. Even so, rarely, if ever, was genocide practiced during peace times against a people submitted under the rule of a king. Rarely, if ever, was the mass execution of such a people methodically planned to be carried out in one day. Yet this is the atrocious evil associated with that name, Haman.

"And the letters were sent by couriers into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions" (Esther 3:13).

It is plain to see that such a decree is evil, but what about the person behind it?

There have always been villains like Herod, Haman, Hitler and Hussein; groups like Hamas and Hezbollah who have sought to wipe out the Jewish people. They have been diabolically inspired by Ha Satan (Hebrew for the adversary) who is God's sworn enemy. He longs to wipe out the Jews because in so doing, he imagines himself defeating God's plan and making Him to be an impotent liar. After all, God promised to protect and preserve the Jewish people—in fact one might say that He has staked His reputation on the perpetuity of the nation. No wonder the destruction of the Jewish people has been the objective of "evildoers" throughout history. While those demonically inspired individuals probably do not know or care about spiritual realities, their own evil inclinations have provided Satan with opportunities to use them.

Why do people have such a hard time associating evil with a person or persons, with naming them as evil? When President Bush called terrorists "evildoers" he was ridiculed as though he had made a blunder unbefitting his office. Why try to justify the actions of evil people? I remember a public service ad on television that admonished, "Don't leave your keys in your car or you might help make a good boy go bad."

We have fashioned blame shifting into an art form to avoid the harsh reality that people are responsible for their evil actions. Why? There are things about evil that by nature, we do not want to know.

Evil Has a Source and It Begins with "H"

A major source of evil in this world is the human heart and we all have one of those. From earliest times, "…the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5).

This was not merely an evaluation of one or two generations. It was God's diagnosis of the human predicament for all time. Y'shua (Jesus) said, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man" (Mark 7:21-3).

Evil is not some unnamed malevolent force that exists solely outside the realm of humanity. The Bible speaks a great deal about evil (462 times) and specifically identifies people as evildoers 44 different times. Not only is evil real. People are evil. And part of our evil nature is that we don't want to admit it.

Our modern and post-modern mindset resists the idea that evil has become inherent in human nature because of the fall of our race. How ironic then, that when confronted with their wrongs, many shrug it off by saying, "I am only human." Precisely. Deep down, everyone knows that not one of us is exempt from evil thoughts, words or deeds. Most would simply prefer to call it something else.

Perhaps we avoid the reality that our hearts are evil because we reserve that word for the likes of Haman, who, after all, must be in a category shared only by other ruthless murderers like Hitler and Hussein. But Haman's heinous crime did not begin as a diabolical plan for genocide. It grew out of what the Greeks called "hubris." It grew out of the wretched seething resentment of inappropriate pride.

"When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath" (Esther 3:5). That seething wrath towards Mordecai the Jew gestated and gave birth to Haman's monstrous plan to wipe out all Jews.

Could something as common as hubris lead to something so, well, so evil as genocide? Yes! Pride is a powerful deceiver that causes untold destruction. It keeps us from seeing and hating our own sin. The feeding and festering of arrogance under any cover, be it nationalism, religious fervor or you-name-it can take human beings down a maniacal path toward genocide, gas chambers, the slaughter of innocent Kurdish women and children. But it will not always be so.

Evil Has a Destiny and It Begins with "H"

Haman had a hangman's gallows erected for the special execution of the Jew he hated most, Mordecai. But Haman's plans backfired in one sudden moment of judgment. Standing before the King, Queen Esther confronted Haman with his evil plan. The truth came out in the most unexpected way—through a young woman who had risked her life to uncover the plot. With Haman's wickedness revealed, justice was swift and relentless.

"Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, 'Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king's behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.' Then the king said, 'Hang him on it!' So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai" (Esther 7:9-10).

Those gallows are a part of the history of the Jewish people's survival but they also symbolize God's intention to judge all evil some day.

God will judge evil, if not in this life, as was the case of Haman, then most certainly in the next. Evildoers have a destiny and that destiny is called Hell. One day all will stand before the King to have justice meted out—and then there will be no avoiding the reality that we have sinned—that we have thought, said and done what was evil in God's sight.

Thankfully, God did not condemn us to be left to our own evil inclinations. God sent His only
beloved Son, a Jew named Y'shua, into this world to change our destiny for good. Satan in his pride, tried to get Jesus to bow down to him. Failing that, he foolishly constructed a "gallows" from which Jesus willingly allowed Himself to be hung. The enemy must have thought Jesus' death would defeat the plan of God. Instead, that gallows, the cross of Christ, became the point of victory by which the adversary and all his evil accomplices would be destroyed.

Purim teaches us that evil has a name, a source and a destiny. It demonstrates how God uses the unexpected to separate good from evil, to preserve His people and put forward His plans. Though we see our sin on a far smaller scale, evil still resides in each of us. Its source is pride, which has corrupted every human heart and given birth to unholy thoughts, words and choices. But God used the most unexpected means to separate us from our sin. He nailed it to Calvary so that He could give us a new name, a new heart and a new destiny.

The cross became the means by which our own sin would be executed so that we might be saved. That is the good news that we must believe and proclaim to our world. Evil is real. Hell is real. And because of these realities, we have been given the only real solution, the finished work of our Messiah Jesus. "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).

{please comment}

3-With Zest in Life

2006-03-13T13:40:00.000-06:00

Chapter 3 | Blue Bear

Blue Bear really was a curiosity; from the moment James put him in the house he was crawling around, climbing up on to furniture, and getting into everything. Once when James stepped outside to receive a delivery, Blue Bear went straight to James’ room and started pulling all the clothes from his dresser!

It wasn’t until that night that James found out about what had happened. He really should have sooner, though, because in the meantime Blue Bear had snuck outside dressed up as a businessman on his way to a very important meeting. Nobody knew who in the world it was when they looked out the window and saw a short figure in expensive clothes tripping and falling on the sidewalks of Marang!

”Why, he even painted his face BLUE!” someone yelled. “He must be a clown on his way to the circus!”

Of course, he wasn’t a clown, or a businessman, but he sure was blue! But since being blue wasn’t something he could change, he just had to live with it. When a neighbor finially recognized him, she scooped Blue Bear up into her arms and brought him back home.

After awhile, everything had more or less settled down in the neighborhood. Blue Bear was attending classes at Nie’s homeschool and learning to speak and write and add numbers. Both Blue Bear and Little White Bear were becoming very bright bears and it could easily be seen that their new parents were extremely fond of them.

At school and afterwards, the two bears were together. Little did they know it then, but they were forming a close friendship that would last a long time. Many autumn afternoons were spent walking through the woods together. Often one would stop to climb a tree or wade in the stream. This stream, called Beverly Brook, wove around the town of Marang, beside the sports fields, through the public garden, and finally flowed into the majestic Lake Champlain which borders the state of Vermont.

It's time to be wise

2006-03-10T16:23:00.000-06:00

By Mike Smith, President of Home School Legal Defense Association
Reprinted from The Home School Court Report, Nov/Dec 2005. All rights reserved.

Now, perhaps more than any other time in history, it's absolutely imperative that as people of God, we exercise godly wisdom. We are bombarded daily by a culture that is deceptive and seductive, even for the most mature Christians.

We all know God is the true source of wisdom. The book of James promises that if we will seek God's wisdom, He will provide it generously. The prerequisite is to ask, seek, and knock. Ultimately, the wisdom of God comes from His Word and, by application, the Holy Spirit speaking into our life.

A major issue facing the homeschooler today is the public-school-at-home option that is now available to almost every homeschooler in America.

Way back in 1988, an enterprising school district in El Dorado County, California, came up with the idea of "helping homeschoolers": parents were offered money to enroll their children in the district's "Independent Study Program," now commonly called an ISP. The district received state and federal monies for each child, a portion of which was "shared" with the parents. As this "win-win" concept spread across California, districts began offering more services . . . and exercising more control over curriculum.

In 1991, Minnesota passed the first charter school law, intending to offer more choices for public school parents, more opportunity for students, and encouragement for creative teachers. California followed suit in 1992. By 2003, 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico all permitted charter schools. It didn't take long for innovative individuals to think outside the classroom—and thus cyber schools, or "virtual charter schools," were born.

The pitch being made to homeschoolers today is that you can continue to control the education of your child at home while receiving money to cover curriculum, computers, and extracurricular activities. You can confer with a certified teacher and at the end of the day you'll have an "accredited" diploma.

HSLDA has consistently warned parents, especially religiously motivated parents, against enrolling in public-school-at-home programs because of the long-term threat to the private homeschool movement.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS AT HOME ARE A
MOVE BACK TO CENTRALIZATION.

Private homeschooling has been successful because it is separate from the government schools—in other words, decentralized. Public schools at home are a movement back to centralization, with the government being able to impose its control over education because of the money parents receive.

What's the wisdom issue? It gets back to the "Why are we homeschooling?" question. The Christian's goal in education is to prepare his children for heaven.

Godly wisdom begins with the fear of God. The fear of God is more than a healthy respect for Him: it is the recognition that God will provide all the needs of those who seek first His Kingdom.

Godly wisdom says that in spite of the obstacles ("I'm tired, I have feelings of inadequacy and doubt, my children have reached high school and the courses seem too complicated, and we don't have enough money"), if we'll seek God first and make the purpose of our home education program be training up our children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord, He will provide.

Godly wisdom says that the family was ordained by God and the responsibility for the training and education of children is with the parents. Since God has placed that responsibility on parents, what He has mandated, He will support.

What's our goal for the education of our children? Heaven. Let's resist the worldly wisdom that urges us to submit ourselves to an education that either ignores God or points our children away from God. Rather, let's point the way toward God by training our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and God will provide for all our needs.

2-With Zest in Life

2006-03-06T15:26:00.000-06:00

Chapter 2 | Nie

Little White Bear’s mother (whose name is spelt N-i-e and pronounced with a silent E) stayed in the lobby of the apartment for a few weeks. Bradley wanted to keep an eye on her and he knew that it was a good place for her since there were lots of people coming in and out. They would leave snacks for her to munch on or give her a vase of wildflowers to look at and smell (that adds zest to life). She immensely enjoyed all the attention that came her way for she was a very socialible bear!

Well, little did anyone realize that Nie wasn’t exactly ignoring all the talking that was going on around her; in fact, she paid very close attention to it, right down to the last word. So in a few weeks, Nie surprised everyone. She was beginning to talk herself! What a shock!

The community was crazy with excitement. “A bear that was found in the woods has learned to talk!” was the gossip of every afternoon tea.

With that, word spread like wildfire. Soon almost everybody knew about “that bear in a small town in Vermont: Marang, or...or Mang, or something like that, anyway, the one that is talking…they didn’t even try to teach her…in just two weeks…she learned herself…what will they do with her?”

Indeed that was the question. It was an unexpected question. It was a question without an answer.

“What shall we do with her?” asked Bradley, half to himself. “She can’t stay here forever.”

“Ask her; she would know what she wants to do,” Margarita replied. So they did, and this is what she said: “I will not stay here. I want a house of my own and I intend to teach Little White Bear to talk also. I would like to have a class full of animals.”

Within a week, Bradley had found a small, yet perfect sized house for Nie to live in and Margarita had found plenty of in-good-shape necessities including dishes, linens, and plenty of furniture. They were ready to make it feel like home for her.

When the time came to move in, Nie was so excited she could hardly sit still during the very short car ride to her new home. And once they arrived, it took her little time to unload and begin a new life in her own home.

When she was ready, Nie called Bradley on the phone. “You can bring Little White Bear over on Monday. I am ready to start teaching him. I will not only teach him to talk, but I will show him how to write and add sums and figures. I will be his tutor.”

In a few months, Little White Bear could do all the things that Nie had promised. This amazed the whole neighbourhood, but especially the Hutton’s friends and relatives. The whole sequence of events that had gone on didn’t go unnoticed. James (Bradley’s neighbour) had an idea planted in his mind and it wasn’t about to leave. Instead, it just kept growing. He thought: “What if I were to get a bear from the woods and bring him back to live with me?”

Could another bear learn to talk? Would it work out the same way? Life would never be the same with a bear to care for…

Problems with Internet Explorer

2006-03-06T13:58:00.000-06:00

Some people have mentioned that they are having trouble viewing
www.sethwillard.com properly. The homepage is laid out wacky and not all the pictures/graphics load fully. I've tried to figure out the problem, but all I can say is this:
The program I use when going on the web is called Firefox, and it is an alterntate browser that is alot like Internet Explorer. They both have their pros and cons, however when I am working on and viewing my blog using Firefox, everything (usually) looks just right. Why it looks different for others beats me, but I will try to find out the glitch soon. In the mean time, you can do one of two thing if it's looking wacky to you:

(1) Live with it, ignore it, not notice it or complain about it

(2) Download Mozilla Firefox for free (by clicking on the picture above) and see if the blog looks better through that program

Please comment on this post no matter how much or how little trouble you are having. It will help me to know how big of a glitch this is and who is getting frustrated (rightly so, of course!).

Thanks to you all...
Seth

Resources I've found valuable

2006-03-04T14:59:00.000-06:00

Here is a listing of some of the products and services I've especially come to appreciate. They fit my standards
and hopefully will be of help to you as well.

~If you are looking to have prints made from your digital camera conveniently and at a fair price, upload them to Snapfish.

~If you need supplies that OfficeMax doesn't carry, set up an account and place an order with Quill.

~Looking for quality clothing that lasts for years, is great for the entire family, and comes right to your door? Look no farther than Lands' End!

~If you need to ship a package, UPS is at your service.
What can Brown do for you?™

~Shopping online? Check to see if a portion of your total can be donated to charity without costing you any extra. Find out if your store is listed with the Salvation Army (KettleShop.org) and Home School Legal Defense Association (clicks for homeschooling).

~When you're ready to ditch your old machine and buy a new computer, get a Dell!

~Looking for a periodical that is thought provoking, challenging, entertaining and builds your faith? Subscribe for free to R.C. Sproul Jr.'s Every Thought Captive.

~Have you lost your focus, forgot the bigger picture? Read a Bible passage and then tune in to Praise FM: Inviting you into God's presence through a lifestyle of worship...

More will be added as I think of them. See also my two best magazines.

Catch the vision...

2006-03-02T14:07:00.000-06:00

Agent Tim and Alex King (smarthomeschool.com) along with Spunky Junior and Jake Smith have started (I should say will be starting in just two weeks) an online magazine and Christain blog network called Regenerate Our Culture. Their goal is to regenerate our nation’s worldview away from the post-modernism holding it and back to the Christian worldview it was first built on. They aim to do this by pulling together some of the best Christian writers and bloggers for everyone to read and have easy access to without searching the web for hours everyday.

I am really excited about this endeavor; the ROC team is taking big steps in the right direction and I applaud them and wish them the best of success. Take the time to browse their plans today and also check back here for the latest updates in preperation for the launch on March 15.

And so we begin the story...

2006-02-27T17:21:00.000-06:00

I had to keep my promise by starting the serial of my book while we are still in February...expect a new chapter every Monday for about twenty weeks. They're nice and short so gather round your kids or younger siblings and get ready for story time. Enjoy and be blessed!

PROLOGUE | What is Zest?

This book, which you are reading in the form of a serial, is titled With Zest in Life. Now I realize that if someone doesn’t know what zest is, or if he has the wrong understanding of zest, this person could not grasp the concept of adding zest to life at all. So instead of making you flip through a dictionary for the definitions of zest, I will tell you what it means-or rather, what I mean by the phrase With Zest in Life.

If you were to ask a university professor what zest is, he or she would probably explain that once you graduate from college you will feel very independent and free. Nothing will hold you back (except your debt, might I add) and you will approach your new opportunities with zest. Everything you do will be done with excitement and it will be hard to contain your feelings of delight and enjoyment; you will push straight ahead with gusto, relishing every moment. In short, you will have a real zest for life.

Hold that thought a moment: note the professor said you will have a zest for life. That is not the same as zest in life! I will explain this in a moment, but first let’s ask the cooks at America’s Test Kitchen what they know about zest.

That’s right, you are probably sighing to yourself, zest is a food so this must be a cookbook! Well, no, this is not a cookbook and zest is not a food but it is an ingredient. The test cooks would tell you that zest is made when you run a grater over the surface of a lemon. The peel comes off in little specks, which are used to add flavor or color to foods. A recipe may call for two teaspoons lemon zest, so the cook would grate and grate till she acquired enough, stirring it in as prescribed. I agree that zesting certainly does sound like a tedious task, but it’s probably not terrible since the cook can use a special grater called a zester to speed up the process. But I think we’ll leave that for another time.

Zest is excitement and it is also grated lemon peel. Is that all? No, because in this story zest is something different all together. It is still an ingredient but instead of adding it to a dessert it is added to people’s lives.

Here is an example: when I think of zest, I sometimes imagine an office painted light blue. In that office are cubicles, a little section separated by dividers where a person can work at a desk. Looking out from a particular cube you see artwork hanging on the walls. There are plants sitting on the window-sill soaking up the sunlight. Turning around you see a computer showing pictures of the employee’s family as a screen saver. Sitting on the desk is an American flag, a set of homemade bookends, and a clock. Cartoons clipped from Sunday’s paper are tacked to the carpeted divider of the cubicle and posters, children’s artwork, a calendar and a list of favorite Bible verses have been added over time. Sitting on a file cabinet opposite the desk…

Sound like any Joe or Brenda’s office? For the most part it does-everyone has at least a small portion of zest in their lives; it makes them feel good. This zest-really the third definition of the word-is anything someone places in their daily path that helps keep them upbeat. Something that, when they experience it, a smile crawls onto their face. It can be anything you see or smell or touch or taste or hear.

Consider this: why do stores play music in the background while people shop? The obvious answer: it puts the crowds in a better mood by making them subconsciously forget their troubles and think happier thoughts. And a happy person will always buy more than a depressed person. So it is with Zest…little patches of brightness, uniqueness, or difference in an ordinarily dismal day-to-day living.

Keep in mind though that joy comes from Yahweh, our Father God, and without Him we can never be truly happy. Zest may help to cheer us up, but it can not do anything by itself to keep the days bright and the weeks pleasurable. For that we must turn to Yeshua (God’s son Jesus), asking Him to come inside us, to forgive our sins, and to bring us the peace that surpasses understanding. He will make us truly happy.

You may be confused as you start reading by thinking that the zest is the various animals Bradley and James took into their homes. But it’s not. You see while the story is strange and something that will never become real life-remaining as it should a make believe tale-it is a whimsical representation of zest at its best. The zest is the gardens, the poetry and the friendships; and more importantly the Biblical principle of living our lives with hope and a purpose. This is a story for children, their elders, and everyone in between and it is my desire that it will inspire you to keep pressing on towards eternal life in heaven, all the while enjoying the journey. Take time to sniff the thyme as you proceed with Zest in Life.

Chapter 1 | Little White Bear

Bradley Hutton was talking to his friend James Overland one evening in the courtyard of their apartment complex. They lived in the small town of Marang, which is a made up town in Vermont. “You know,” he said “I have a really great idea. Tomorrow, I am going to go into the woods to see if I can catch a bear. Then I will bring him home to live with us. I already told Margarita about it, and she wants to come along!”

Margarita was Bradley’s wife. She was a fun loving person, but didn’t like any nonsense and goofing around. So it was quite a surprise that she wanted to join him.

The next day, which was a sunny Tuesday in June, Bradley and Margarita started out. James, whom Bradley had been talking to the night before, decided he also wanted to come along and see what was going to happen. He wondered what Bradley was going to do in order to get that bear he wanted.

“Isn’t it illegal to just take a bear out of the woods and not pay or anything?” questioned James.

“Nope. Everything has been finalized with the state,” replied Bradley.

“How in the world are you going to make a bear live in your house with you?” James persisted.

“We shall see about that when the time comes.”

After awhile, the expedition party saw a momma bear and her cub hobbling through the thicket. They were both thin and the momma was dragging her leg. It was obivous she was hurt and in need of medical assistance.

The cub struggled over to a tree and the momma fell down next to it to rest. She looked at Bradley as if to say, “Please take my cub; I can’t take care of him any longer.”

The cub, catching on to his mother’s mood, slowly walked over to where Bradley and James were standing.

“You know,” said James, thinking out loud, “I think that we should take the mother to the animal hospital. She could sure use some help. I wonder what has happened.”

So they carefully loaded her into the back of Bradley’s pickup truck and slowly drove away from the woods toward town.

* * * * * *

A week later, things were a bit out of the ordinary around the city of Marang. Everyone knew about the recent adoption of bears into the Hutton family. Bradley and Margarita had taken the cub home and named him Little White Bear or just LWB for short.

And you ask about the momma? Well, she has a whole different life now. She is recovering from her leg surgery and is living in the lobby of the apartment. (Temporarily, of course!)

A look back on Vassal's Guild

2006-02-24T10:26:00.000-06:00

(UPDATE: the second half of this article has been added to last week's portion)

Vassal: a subordinate, subject or servant; someone at another's mercy

Guild: a union of men formed to uphold standards

Vassal's Guild:
A union of young men formed to uphold servitude and humility

During the summer of two-thousand five, six young Minnesota men between the ages of 14 and 17 gathered together once a month to discuss their valued new possessions and the lessons that were contained inside.

Specifically, what it means to be a servant.

Thus formed Vassal's Guild, a union of young men formed to uphold servitude and humility through the use of rare and classical material: century old stories from Lamplighter Publishing.

The books in their Rare COLLECTOR'S SERIES are an invaluable resource in the quest for a Biblical standard of living. After reading a few of them and discussing the stories with the Vassal's Guild, I am 100% thrilled with the books and the lessons they presented. I would love to launch into a review of all the great things about the Rare Collector's books, but since my purpose is to tell you more about the book club experience and less about the outstanding quality of the books we read, I will restrain.

The first meeting found yours truly (the leader) with some stuff to hand out like the books I had ordered, a schedule for the meetings, and the study guide I put together which contained, among other things, a list of analysis questions, review forms for the books, and commentary on servitude to help evaluate the attitudes and actions of the people in the books.

Since we hadn't done any reading prior to the first meeting, I thought it would work out well to listen to a CD message by Doug Phillips of The Vision Forum entitled "Women and Children First!" It gives some extraordinary stories of men playing the position of servants aboard sinking ships like the Titanic; and also stories of some men that refused the calling.

Students went home that night with the assignment to read, read, read before the next meeting when we would be discussing the different aspects of what they had covered.

At the assembly a month later, held on a Thursday evening, we dissected The Boy Who Never Lost a Chance by starting at the beginning and talking our way through it.

After going over some general questions, we looked into the spiritual and servitude side of the story, peering into the character’s hearts and following their actions; we looked at how the lessons gleaned by the characters could be used by us to herald behavioral improvement. We talked about the kinds of personalities that match a humble spirit and how they were evident in the personalities of the characters. “We learned to act more like servants from the books we read. In the books it showed us what servitude was…” wrote Jeffrey Rausch, age 14, in a post-book club comment sheet.

The other books that went through our process were Shipwrecked But Not Lost, The Robbers’ Cave, Ishmael, and it’s sequel Self-Raised. They taught many lessons besides the specific ones we wanted to identify, and I will let my fellow Vassals share some of them with you.

“By reading The Boy Who Never Lost a Chance, I learned you should work hard but at the same time make friends. I mean you shouldn’t just focus on one thing and block everything else out. Otherwise you might miss a chance.”-Warren Rausch, 17

“…I was hoping to find out who Ishmael Worth really was in history. Nevertheless, by reading his story, I have better learned to appreciate long books like Ishmael and Self-Raised.”-Joel Waage, 16

“…I think it [Vassal’s Guild] has helped me in my walk with God, and helped me to be more helpful in my family…the books we read were very, very good.”-Kwende Kiemle, 17

“The Robbers’ Cave taught me that as Christians, right here, right now, we have it easy. Get out and serve others, stay loyal to them through hard times, and pray that Yahweh will draw them to him evermore.”-Ian Willard, 15

The value these young men place on the lessons they learned is evident, as is the appreciation they have for the books themselves. “The books we read were a good variety,” writes Warren Rausch. “They pretty much had the same principles and morals as each other. Servant-hood was stressed in all these books.” Each story seemed to be better than the one before it, and there was so much in the larger books it was hard to keep ourselves from reading the days away.

Sometimes questions arose about a certain story in parts that were hard to understand. It helped to be able to bring up the problem in conservation with peers who most likely ran into the same thing. “The overall atmosphere of the meetings was comfortable” writes Warren, although at times “it should have been more on the study” notes his brother Jeffrey. (That is, I suppose, a valid statement as we did get a little distracted!)

“I would like to go through the winter with this book club,” Kwende passionately exclaims. Of course, since it is the leader who has to do all the prep work, the decision on whether to continue or not would be his.

After thinking a moment, what is his response?

“Yes, these books are very good, enriching, interesting stories and worthy of our time. My eyes have been opened as to just how important it is to be a servant of others and show humility and also to live out the old-time values as they are presented here…”

I firmly believe I’m right.

The Recipe Monthly debuts again

2006-02-20T17:29:00.000-06:00

Up until August of 2004, I published a magazine that was sent out to a small handfull of subscribers (mostly family and friends) every four weeks. It was called The Recipe Monthly and here is how it worked: readers would send me their favorite recipes for or using a certain food that I had chosen and then I would compile, edit and format them in a nice little magazine all the subscribers would get that contained not only their own recipes but also a whole load of other great varieties to try. Then the whole process would repeat itself!

After 2 1/2 years I just about ran out of recipe topics, plus the amount of subscribers had dwindled so we (my aunt Jeanette who helped keep TRM going and I) decided it was a good time to stop. No, it wasn't a failure, only time to move on to other endeavors. Like sethwillard.com. So now that I have my own website, I want to renew the slogan "Good Food, Expressed" by sharing the best of The Recipe Monthly with you. Every month I will post a few recipes for you to try at home. They will come out of the corresponding issue for that month, starting with the debut issue of February 2002: Cookies!

Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 c. margarine

1/2 c. shortening

3/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. white sugar

1 c. crunchy peanut butter

2 eggs (well beaten)

3 c. flour

2 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 t. baking powder

Cream together margarine, shortening, sugars, and peanut butter. Add the beaten eggs. Sift together flour, soda, salt and baking powder and add to mixture, stirring well. Shape dough into balls balls and roll them in white sugar. Place on cookie sheet and flatten with a fork or potato masher. Bake at 375º for 10 minutes.

Makes 4-5 dozen.

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

Combine in a mixing bowl:

1/2 c. shortening

1/3 c. white sugar

1/3 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

Combine the following in a small bowl and add to above.

1 c. flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. soda

1/2 c. oats

Stir in 1 cup coconut. Bake at 375º for 9-12 minutes.

Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

1-1/2 c. butter flavoured Crisco®

1-3/4 c. brown sugar

2 T. vanilla

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 T. milk

Mix together the above in a large bowl. Sift together:

3-1/2 c. flour

2 t. soda

1-2 t. salt

Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture. Stir in 2 cups chocolate chips.

Bake at 350º for 12 minutes.

Turtles

2 squares unsweetned chocolate, melted or 1/3 c. cocoa

1/3 c. butter

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 c. flour

Mix altogether in a bowl. Drop by large tablespoonfuls onto medium-hot waffle iron and close iron. Cook about 1 minute. Let cool and then frost with green colored frosting. Don’t they look like turtles?

****************
Coming up: March Muffin Mania!

{No you don't have to send recipes to me; everything is taken care of. wink}

****************

Note: the image of the first TRM shown above is slightly different than the actual cover.

Sorry about the inconsistency...

Photo Gallery: Lydia Froemming (Installment I)

2006-02-14T21:46:00.000-06:00

These were taken by my friend Lydia Froemming who is enrolled in classes in photography. You may use them for private, non-commercial use as much as you want. I look forward to posting many more of her great shots for us all to enjoy.

(c)2006 Lydia Froemming

Are you wondering about the ACT test? Maybe I can help...

2006-02-09T16:44:00.000-06:00

Dear homeschooled high school students,

I want to use this blog to share with you some resources, websites, and information which I have found helpful. I hope that you will find the articles beneficial. Today I am going to be talking about the ACT test.

The ACT is the test you need to take if you are planning on continuing your education through college. It is generally given to students in the Midwest, while the SAT, which is similar but somewhat more difficult, is used mainly on the east coast. Most colleges will accept results from either one when you enroll, so you do not have to take both.

You can take the ACT as many times as you want, so you may consider taking it in the spring of your junior year and then again in the middle of your senior year. The ACT office will send your scores to selected colleges if you ask them to, but I would recommend having them send it to you only, and then you can wait and send in your highest score when you are ready to apply for college.

Tip: When you are filling out the ACT registration form, enter 969-999 as the high school code. This will enable you to have the scores sent directly to your home instead of to the local high school.

Recently, a writing test was added to the ACT; it is optional, so you do not have to do it if you don’t want to. When I took the test last spring, I did not do the writing part, but I plan on taking it when I retake the test.

You can pick up a registration packet at your local high school with more information and a little help book and practice exam, but I would encourage you to first go to the website www.actstudent.org. You can register online, get test descriptions, view helpful tips, access valuable articles and more.

The resource I used to get mentally prepared for the big day was a book called Cracking the ACT, which is published by The Princeton Review. It is a very big book, and was a tad overwhelming for me to read through, mainly because I had only a few weeks to do so. It is also fairly wordy, but the authors do do a good job of explaining every aspect of the test-taking experience, and in an encouraging way. It contains a breakdown of basic grammar and English, mathematics, science charts and experiments, and also how to read (test passages) well. In addition, there is a section on writing an essay pertaining to the writing test.

Toward the back you will find two full length practice exams, and if you buy the edition with the non-reusable CD-ROM, there are six additional practice exams on it. Most bookstores and online shops should carry it. The book only is priced somewhere around $15.00 and the book with a CD-ROM is about $20.00.

I believe that tomorrow is a test day (Saturday) and the next one is in April. Be sure to register next week if you are planning to take it this spring, and don't forget to study hard!

Sincerely,
Seth Willard

Why virtual schools can never be a reality for Christian homeschoolers

2006-02-02T17:12:00.000-06:00

A guest post by Karen Bryant as appeared in The LEARN at Home Letter November/December 2005.

The turn of the century brought the merging of extremes in education choice to create a new option that has caused dissension, confusion, and concern among the homeschool community. This new thing has replaced home education as the fastest growing form of school choice in the nation and has captured the attention of homeschool leaders, the National Education Association, and legislators nationwide. Traditional public school has been repackaged and sold to private home educating families to be implemented in the home under the authority of the State - thus the birth of virtual schools, sometimes referred to as charter schools, distance learning, or on-line learning. I call it “hologram homeschooling,” because it gives the appearance of home education, but lacks the depth of true homeschooling.

If you and I are were having a discussion over a nice cup of coffee on this topic, the following dialogue might occur.

Isn’t choice a good thing?
Yes, choice is apparently a good thing, since we were created with a free-will with which we are designed to make choices. But that doesn’t mean all choice is good, the Scriptures clearly make this point. In helping us to make good education choices, we should define what the purpose of education is. In his essay On Secular Education, R. L. Dabney says “It is properly the whole man or person that is educated, but the main subject of the work is the spirit. Education is the nurture and development of the whole man for his proper end.”

R. C. Sproul, Jr. in his recent book When You Rise Up says “Thinking that education is something different from discipling our children is a sure sign that we have been “educated” by the state. Education is discipleship.” (p. 21)

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 has been the homeschool theme Scripture for years:

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you rise up.”

But it is prefaced with the command to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and strength. It concludes with the exhortation to “Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them to our foreheads. Write them on the doorframe of your houses and on your gates.”

In other words, His Word should be in our face all the time! Our children should not be able to escape it. But what do we do? We compartmentalize our children’s training - this is “school” and this is Bible study. We fail to see Christ in literature, in science, in U.S. history, and even in math.

So, while choice is good, it is our responsibility to make sure that we make good choices and for Godly reasons.

Isn’t this just another form of homeschooling?
No, it is another form of public education; it is tax-funded (your fellow homeschoolers help pay for it through their taxes); it uses a state approved secular curriculum; the students are assessed using the state assessments; data is collected, recorded, and stored by the government; and government officials are in authority over the student’s education.

But a parent participating in a virtual school is going through the same motions as homeschoolers, so doesn’t it make sense to call them homeschoolers?
At first glance the two education methods indeed look to be very similar, simply because instruction takes place primarily in the home and is delivered by the parent. However, a closer look will reveal the following significant fundamental differences:

Home Education
*Parent approves curriculum
*Parent is directly accountable to God
*Parent pays for curriculum
*Parent chooses assessments
*Parent determines graduation requirements
*Parent maintains student records
*Parent is free to incorporate religious instruction

Virtual School
*State approves curriculum
*Parent is directly accountable to the State
*State (taxpayers) pays for curriculum
*State mandates assessments
*State determines graduation requirements
*State maintains student records
*State Constitution prohibits religious instruction

In addition, by blurring the lines between private home education and tax-funded education in the home, we contribute to the likelihood that legislators and policy makers will clump the two groups together as they create regulations in the future.

But the parent in a virtual school program can still teach the Christian worldview and point out the secular worldview errancies.
While that may be true, ask yourself how realistic it is to instruct two separate curriculums at the same time. Not only is it labor intensive and time prohibitive, how much sense does it make if you find yourself feeling the need to point out errancy in the curriculum to which you automatically give credibility simply by inviting it into your home and facilitating the instruction of it. Your children will get the message that government must know something that you don’t about what God would have them know.

Also, remember that the State assessments will be the ultimate determining factor as to how “successful” your child is in the virtual school. These assessments will create a permanent record of what your child believes to be true. Does it not seem contradictory to strive for your child to to pass assessments that conflict with your personal beliefs?

What do the State’s standards have to do with virtual schools?
All public school choices require students to take the state assessments in reading, math, social studies, and science. These assessments reflect the state standards that were determined by the legislature. The development of Minnesota’s standards that parents, teachers, legislators, and bureaucrats believed all students should know was an extremely contentious issue and remains contentious today. The liberals and conservatives have very different ideas as to what students should know and the shaping of standards is not a settled issue, nor will it probably ever be. How much easier is it for the parent to simply choose a curriculum that teaches the standards the parent agrees with and then test your child according to your own standards. Doesn’t it make more sense for our children to see us be consistent with our convictions?

In summary, if one embraces the Biblical approach to education and training, it is nearly impossible to see how a virtual school with its secular humanistic curriculum can make your God ordained goals for your children a reality.

check these out

2006-02-02T17:02:00.000-06:00

There are some great posts over at therebelution.com. They deal with what makes a real man and a real women and are so Biblical and true. How refreshing it is to see this revival in the Christian community.

News Release: exPAND magazine for inventive minds stopped

2006-02-02T13:34:00.000-06:00

er, well basically...

The blog site for exPAND magazine has been shut down, as it was not the time for that endeavor. But the original articles will be moved to Greener-Grass, and if you ever want to write about a fun wholesome project you worked on, feel free to do so and send it to me. I'd love to post it here for my readers to see.

Thanks for your understanding!

Seth

PS: If you type in www.expandmagazine.org, you will be redirected to this posting.

the Friday rule

2006-01-30T14:58:00.000-06:00

Because you probably don't have the time to check my blog every day for new posts (if you do, you should spend it doing something else!) and because I really should spend time doing other things was well, I have made a little decision.

It's called the Friday rule.

Visit sethwillard.com every last week day or over the weekend and you can count on the fact that there will be something new to read. I will update the site at least once before Friday with an article, essay, etc, and the recurring things will be mixed in there as they come up. These include monthly recipes and chapters from my book With Zest in Life. That way we can keep this blog current and lively yet not too time consuming. By the way, that doesn't mean if you leave comments on a post I won't see them right away. I automatically get an email when someone comments-so it's easy to know who said what.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to the Harris's for putting my link on their superb blog, the Rebelution. Welcome to all visitors from there also...
See you Friday!
Seth

A letter for homeschoolers

2006-01-27T14:14:00.000-06:00

One of the purposes of this blog is to encourage and strengthen home educators, especially those who choose not to take advantage of government perks to aid in their school experience.

I firmly believe that parents who want to homeschool their children should choose to do so because they want to bring them up differently and separately, and train them to be set apart from the world. If this is their reason for not putting the kids on the bus, then almost nothing should be able to convince the parents that public funded education will work well on their children.

Why? If the government is funding the programs a child is learning through, then they have the power to change and control what that child is learning. So once a parent accepts help from the government he is giving up part of his say in what will be told to or read by or taught to his children. Giving up control of your children's education is something no parent should be excited about. Even if you save 100 thousand dollars.

Thus, on this website I will be featuring occasional articles and essays from the perspective that "We chose to homeschool for a reason, we are succeeding because He is blessing us, and we will keep at it no matter what comes along to convince us to follow a wider path."

I pray that it will be an encouragement to you and that your conviction will be strengthened. Please look around and come back periodically. There's bound to be something you can use, if only the exhortation from Matthew 7 (vs 13-14 RSV): Enter by the narrow gate; for the way is wide and easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Persevero,
Seth D. Willard

PS: If you have something you want to share with others, please feel free to do so by commenting on a post or emailing me at sdwillard@gmail.com. I will then put your message on the blog.

News & Notes

2006-01-19T13:33:00.000-06:00

Now it's easier than ever to visit Greener-Grass!
(see below)

All you have to do is type

www.sethwillard.com
and you'll go directly to my blog.
Try it now by clicking here to leave this page. Once you are at the Vision Forum website, type sethwillard.com into your browser and you'll come back to Greener-Grass.
No long addresses to remember, just my plain old name!

Be sure to click on the dated archive pages to the right starting with November 2005. There are alot of great posts in them that were put on almost as soon as I launched this site.
Newcomers, you don't want to miss out!

Coming in February...

Lydia Froemming's Photo Gallery
enters the scene

The Recipe Monthly
debuts again

The story of the whimsical world of LWBB-
With ZEST in LIFE
begins it's appearance in serial form

Assumptions That Affect Our Lives

2006-01-16T14:54:00.000-06:00

a type of review on the book of the same name by Christian Overman

This thought provoking manual for the thinking believer helped me to understand more deeply the history of our culture and the consequences of the actions and thoughts of previous generations. The author explained that everything we believe is rooted either in Greek humanism or Hebraic Christianity whether we realize it or not. He also revealed how our decisions are made according to our ideas about living. Reading this book made me come to terms with this fact and learn to recognise it a mile away. It would do the same for you, too. I heartily recommend Assumptions-an easy to understand thesis paper showing the

Clash and contrast between Greek philosophy and Hebrew wisdom and their role in shaping Western Christianity.

In the appendix, the author included a list of the major distinctions between Greek and Hebrew thought outlining what he covered in the book. I'd like to post them here for your benefit.

Copyright (c) Christian Overman
G: Mother Earth is the impersonal source of all life on the planet.
H: Father God is the personal source of all life on planet Earth as well as the planet itself and all things beyond.

G: Nature is a self generating force, operating according to it's own closed system of laws and acting independently of any authority outside itself.
H: Creation is generated by the Creator-God who made it for His purposes, operating according to laws designed and sustained by him and subject to His authority. While the Greek sees laws of Nature, the Hebrew sees laws over nature.

G: Nature is "God" and "God" is Nature. All that is, is natural. The supernatural simply does not exist.
H: Creation is Yahweh's handiwork. Yahweh is not to be confused with what He has made, for He existed prior to and is distinct from that which He created. He is a supernatural being, inhabiting the supernatural as well as the natural, created world.

G: The Olympian gods are personal yet limited, while Nature is unlimited yet personal.
H: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is unlimited yet personal.

G: The gods are created in the image and likeness of man.
H: Man is created in the image and likeness of God.

G: Man is classified as an animal, distinguished by this specific difference: man is a rational animal. (According to Aristotle.)
H: Man is differentiated from animals and unique from all other living things in that he is the only creature made in the likeness and image of Yahweh.

G: Man's appearance on earth is the result of an impersonal, non-rational act of a force called "Nature." No purpose is involved. No meaning for existence is given. Mother Nature is silent.
H: Man's appearance on earth is premeditated by a personal, rational Being, and is a deliberate and decisive act of intelligence with purpose.

G: Mankind has no mandate from any source above man himself.
H: Man's divine mandate is to care for creation, and to rule responsibly over the earth.

G: Man's value and worth is determined by the society into which he is born.
H: Man has intrinsic value because he is created in the image and likeness of Yahweh. He has God-determined worth, independent of society's opinion.

G: Truth is measured by man's intellect and reasoned judgment. There is no divine standard or measure of truth which stands over and above man's determination of it. "Man is the measure of all things."
H: Truth is determined by Yahweh, independently of man. His word is the measure of all things. Man's opinion does not affect it in any way.

G: The faith of Greek philosophers is built upon reason acting independently of divine revelation.
H: The faith of the Hebrews is built upon revelation from Yahweh, to which human reason submits.

G: Religious expression is centered around rituals such as food offerings to gods and other rites. Correct ritual receives more emphasis than conduct. The gods do not speak to such issues as business, law, relationships, labor, or family.
H: Religious expression is a commitment to a way of life. Yahweh is as relevant to behavior on the Sabbath as He is to what is done during the rest of the week. His word speaks to all spheres of life, be it business, law, relationships, labor, or family.

G: Religion is a personal choice, a private matter. There are many gods to worship and creeds to choose in Athens.
H: Yahweh and His Word are not dependent upon human acceptance or rejection. His reality and man's accountability to this reality stand, regardless of human consent.

G: Moral conduct is relative to public opinion and/or individual conscience. The Greeks had no Bible to regulate thought and conduct. Values are relative to the social environment.
H: Moral conduct is relative only to Yahweh's Word, and in this respect it is absolute. Public opinion and individual conscience have no power to alter what Yahweh has declared true or morally right.

G: For the citizen of Athens, to "show himself the rightful lord and owner of his own person in all the manifold aspects of life" is an exalted right. (Pericles)
H: For the Hebrew [and the Christian] to show himself the rightful and obedient servant of Yahweh his maker and owner is his joyful blessing, privilege, and obligation.

G: Human freedom is self-determined.
H: Human freedom is determined by Yahweh.

G: Wisdom is found from within.
H: Wisdom is found from without. Foolishness is found within.

G: "Know thyself." (Socrates)
H: Know Yahweh.

G: The Greeks learned in order to comprehend...
H: "The Hebrews learned in order to revere." (Abraham Heschel)

G: The Greek asked "Why must I do it?"
H: The Hebrew asked "What must I do?" (Abraham Heschel)

G: In Sparta, education is for "the obliteration of the individual in the service of the state." In Athens, it is for "the training of the individual in the service of culture."
H: In Israel, education is for "the training of the individual in the service of God." (William Barclay)

G: Manual labor is viewed by philosophers as vulgar and beneath a citizen's dignity.
H: Trades are honoured and manual labor is respected so much that rabbis are expected to be proficient in a trade as well as the Law.

G: Old age is feared.
H: Old are is honoured.

G: History is viewed as a cycle of aimless repetition. The same basic pattern of life and death goes on with no particular end or destination in sight.
H: History is viewed as going somewhere, like an arrow to it's target. Theirs is a straight-line concept of history, with Yahweh working His purposes in the earth, culminating in the messianic reign of Israel's Redeemer.

The chief duty

2006-01-11T16:22:00.000-06:00

I long

to accomplish

great

and

noble tasks,

but it is my

chief duty

to accomplish

humble tasks

as though they were

great and noble.

The world is

moved along,

not only

by the

mighty shoves

of its heroes,

but also

by the

aggregate

of the

tiny pushes

of each

honest worker.

-Helen Keller

Photo Gallery: Seth D. Willard (Installment II)

2006-01-09T17:21:00.000-06:00

Below are some more pictures I took last fall, that day back in October that we got lost at Lake Carlos State Park! (click here for more information)

Something besides bleakness for our hungry eyes to look upon this winter season...

If you use one of these in a publication, please state that the "photo is by Seth D. Willard" if it is appropriate. Otherwise forget it.

Erase the slate and start over fresh...it's a brand new year

2006-01-04T15:13:00.000-06:00

I don't usually pay much attention to making New Year's resolutions but after reading Brett Harris's on the Rebelution, I have been inspired to not only try to follow his, but to work harder at keeping the guidelines put forth in an entry to my notebook dated August 7, 2005.

In it I wrote down certain things I struggle with on a day-to-day basis. Then I put down a solution, knowing I can do better. It is a direct relationship: do less of something-do more of it's opposite. Of course I could not cover all the bases of life, so instead I have written down only the areas I identify as problem spots. (That's not to say I'm not missing some anyway!) They are not in any particular order since I wrote them down as they came to mind but typing them in I have tried to group like struggles together. Some are more urgent than others but all deserve special attention.

My Individual Reformation
080705

talk less-listen more
command less-serve more
boss less-encourage more
get mad less-show patience more
complain less-rejoice more
neglect less-do more
ignore less-respect more
hold back less-give more
stinge a little less-buy a little more (I am somewhat stingy)
shun less-experience more
think less-trust more
get distracted less-study more
envy less-be content more
worry less-pray more
grumble less-praise more

Some points are aimed at how I treat people, some at my actions, others at my interaction with Father Yahweh. All are important so they are my New Year's Resolutions. What are yours?

On heirlooms and hybrids

2006-01-02T12:16:00.000-06:00

The Seeds of Change garden catalog I just got is beautiful! It is full of earth friendly, 100% organic seeds. You can request one at www.seedsofchange.com. Some of the other catalogs that have found their way into my mailbox this season include Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds which specializes in rare, ethnic and endangered varieties and Underwood Gardens, whose catalog is called a compendium of hard-to-find, open pollinated and heirloom seeds.

You can probably tell by now that I like the idea of seed saving to preserve plant species for future generations. Also, I believe it is important to be good stewards of the resources Yahweh gave to us. This includes the food supply and the many aspects of nature. That's why I think the seed offered by these companies-which doesn't contain genetically modified organisms, is organic and open pollinated, and helps preserve old varieties rather than support new hybrids- is the best choice. That being said, I used heirloom seeds from Underwood Gardens in 2004 and wasn't impressed at all. Many plants didn't come up or produce well and everything seemed so foreign and unfamiliar: I don't want Scarlet Beans for canning! I want green beans!

So unfortunatly, last year (2005) we switched back to NK seeds from the store, and, for better or for worse, our small garden produced more than it ever has before. Mom canned quarts and quarts of green beans, the tomatoes did excellent, we actually received a harvest of peas and lettuce, mini pumpkins were climbing over everything and we got a lot of carrots.

What will we poke into the soil next spring? That's up for debate.

Explore those worlds!

2005-12-30T14:43:00.000-06:00

Good Greetings!
I just got back from Narnia and am, like always, totally absorbed in pondering the story. Without exception, whenever I watch a movie or finish reading a book, I can't think about anything else for at least a day!

I find it fascinating that we can escape for a time into another world, and think along with the characters we are reading about. Our minds seem to collaborate and work together, never stopping-or wanting to stop-until it is over. Have you ever thought about how many different worlds we can enter? Way to numerous to count, but lets take a sampling of the ones I like best. (Of course, my favorites list is limited because I'm still young, but that's ok. It gives me time to read in the future!)

The world of...
Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Henry, Jesse, Violet and Benny in The Boxcar Children
Frank and Joe Hardy in the Hardy Boys
Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables and the wonderful sequels
Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy in Little Women
Hannah Worth and all the others in Ishmael & Self-Raised (Lamplighter Publishing)
Kitty in The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Robin Hood
Peter Cottontail in the Thornton Burgess books
Harriet in Harriet the Spy
Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days (I love this book!)
Jem and Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird
Jethro Creighton in Across Five Aprils
...and many more including the real worlds of GA Henty, Genevive Foster and Joy Hakim.

So many worlds to enter, it's overwhelming!
Where do we begin?
Anywhere you want to.
Is there time to explore every one?
No, but there's time for alot of them. It's a lifetime adventure.
Three cheers for reading!
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

Shouldn't you use "qoutes?"

2005-12-27T16:54:00.000-06:00

I often prepare various publications and articles and am commonly in need of something to reinforce the main point. Where do I turn? Quotes do a very eloquent (or in cases blunt) job of expressing the message of the publication. They can be used to draw attention, to offer encouragement, or to conclude a thought. Quotes are often used in writing to reinforce a particular point with the words of a known individual. For example, a quote credited to Isaac D’Israeli says "The wisdom of the wise, and the experience of ages, may be preserved by quotations."

There are books at the library full of quotations, as well as collections on certain websites. As you are reading a book, keep a notebook and pencil handy so that if you see a line you really like, you can write it down or at least underline it. If you flip back through once you finish reading, you will be reminded which parts you found especially interesting and will be able to use them in writing and conversation.

Quotes are helpful; shouldn't you use quotes?

A flame of fire...the tongue

2005-12-20T17:20:00.000-06:00

The first time I read these verses, I was struck. How greatly they apply to each of us every single day!

James Chapter 3, TLB:
Dear brothers, don't be too eager to tell others their faults, for we all make many mistakes...if anyone can control his tongue, it proves that he has perfect control over himself in every other way...the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A great forest is set on fire by a tiny spark. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness, and poisons every part of the body. And the tongue is set on fire by hell itself, and can turn our whole lives into flame of destruction and disaster.

Let us pray that Father Yahweh will help us guard our tongues. I know I need it!

My two best

2005-12-18T14:28:00.000-06:00

Can anyone guess what my two favorite magazines in the whole wide world are? Probably not, so I'll just tell you.

Cook's Illustrated is elegant, simple, wonderful, and easy to read as well as being ad free. It is a super culinary magazine and the absolute best out there. COUNTRYSIDE is the original country magazine serving those seeking greater self-reliance through homesteading, with emphasis on home food production. This includes gardening, small-scale livestock, cooking, food preservation, resource conservation, recycling, frugality, money management, alternative energy, old-time skills, home business, and much more.

Countryside features reader-written personal experiences and photos straight out of our family albums, making each issue just like a long letter from friends who are living the good life, beyond the sidewalks. Countryside is the magazine for real country living.

By clicking on the links below, you can receive a free issue of both. Enjoy!
www.cooksillustrated.com
www.countrysidemag.com

A question and an exhortation

2005-12-16T17:21:00.000-06:00

Thank you all for reading my posts; I hope you have gotten something out of them. I have concluded my little series on natural issues for now although I will still be pondering this area and will of course let you know my thoughts. One of my unanswered questions is "How should Christians view the popular 'back to nature' movement?" If you have any thoughts on this, I'd like to hear them, so please comment on this post.

I will now be moving on to other topics which I trust you will find interesting. There is much to look forward to!

On another note, I just want to encourage everyone not to overdo it this Christmas and Hanukkah season. Stay focused on what you are celebrating and rejoice in His life and sacrifice.
Blessings,
Seth

What’s In Your Pickle?

2005-12-12T16:22:00.000-06:00

When you buy a jar of dill pickles at the grocery store, you assume that’s what's in the jar, right? But do you know what those pickles are made of?

Yes, cucumbers is correct, but what’s in the cucumbers? Green stuff… seeds, I know...but let’s trace them back to their origin.

The cucumbers were taken off vines, which grew in large fields. At the beginning of the year, those fields were empty, but soon, people came and put seeds in the ground. Cucumber seeds. The seeds grew into plants which produced fruit.

During the growing season, fertilizers were put in the soil and near the plants to aid their development. The fields were sprayed with chemicals to keep the weeds from coming up and to kill harmful bugs.

But those seeds, where did they come from? The seeds came from bags where they were stored. Before being put in those bags, though, they may have gone through a process called genetic modification.

In genetic modification, organisms from one species are put into another species for its benefit. An example would be an organism from a disease resistant onion being placed in a cucumber. That way the cucumber seeds out of that cucumber, and the plants that grew from them, would be resistant to the same disease as the onion was.

This procedure can be used on animals as well. Certain organisms can be moved around to increase production, help the plant or animal mature faster, or give it better taste.

The problem is, people have no way of knowing if their food has been genetically modified. It looks normal, tastes fine, feels OK; besides, many people don’t really care if it has been tampered with or not.

But some do care and they want to know so they can buy other products that haven’t been modified. Or just because they should know; it’s their right. They can still buy whatever they want.

In Europe, companies have to label their food as genetically modified after they mess with it. But in the United States, that isn’t the case. They don’t have to tell; it’s their exclusive privilege to know.

Our food needs to be labeled: “contains genetically modified organisms” or “no genetically modified organisms”.

Call your senators and tell them that you care. Urge them to pass a law requiring GMO labeling. It’s a benefit and it’s a right.

Also, remember all the questions and comments phone numbers on the back of food packages? Use them. Call up the companies and tell them you want GMO food labeled. Tell them you have the right to know.

You want to be sure that the only thing in your pickle is a cucumber.

Do me a favor...

2005-12-11T12:50:00.000-06:00

...and go read a super article. It is on The Rebelution, a blog put out by Alex and Brett Harris, twin brothers of Joshua Harris, author of the acclaimed series beginning with I Kissed Dating Goodbye. They seem to be very likeminded with me in alot of areas, and I was struck with the truth of the points the author covered in his article Hard Things™ Come In Small Packages.

While you are there, feel free to return to their homepage and read the other posts. I think you will get alot out of them. By the way, you'll see that the Weblog Awards are going on now through Dec. 15. If you feel so inclined, I would encourage you to click on the link at the homepage so you can vote. The Rebelution has been selected as a finalist, for good reason as you will discover.

Antiperspirants vs. Deoderants

2005-12-10T16:18:00.000-06:00

Does anyone watch the CBS evening news?
(We watch ABC---so there!)

Anyway, I guess they had a story on the other night concerning the cancer risks involved with the use of aluminum in antiperspirant. And...Tom (of Maine) was interviewed. Here is a link to Tom's site: http://www.tomsofmaine.com/about/cbs.asp
and here is a link to the story on CBS.

(See the previous post if you don't get it! And sorry to any newcomers...most subjects I discuss are a little more appealing!-Seth)

My natural health products

2005-12-07T13:38:00.000-06:00

Up-to-date: this list has been revised to reflect changes. It shows what I am using right now.

A few years ago, I started to slowly make the switch to naturally made products for hygeine and personal care. I began by purchasing a sampling of items offered by Tom's of Maine. That was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Their stuff is super, and seems to do it's job well.

After trying out other brands and having Tom's close their mail-order service and discontinue some of my favorites, I compiled a listing of what I currently use. It is below, along with some comments.

Product Name
Remarks

Tom's of Maine Deoderant or Clear Soap
Works well, nice scents and lather

Tom's Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
This was really good but is not made anymore

Nature's Gate Rainwater Herbal Shampoo
Thin and watery, hard to lather

Powerstick Sport Talc Deoderant
Not natural, fine scent. I have not yet found a natural deoderant that works.

Tom's Gentle Honeysuckle Shave Cream
Works fine, but the scent is strong. I will try a milder scent next time.

Tom's AntiPlaque Plus Whitening Gel Toothpaste
Does a good job, really works. My teeth are whiter!

Burt's Bees Honey Lipbalm
Not made with petroleum jelly but with beeswax instead. Smells good, heals chapped lips.

NOW Special One MultiVitamin
I like these alot, but $20 for 180 pills is alot when I was able to find 600

NatureMade Essential Daily MultiVitamins for $13.50 at Kmart.
The NatureMades are "almost natural" and they are fine...

A Bundle of Herbs and their Medicinal Uses

2005-12-02T17:37:00.000-06:00

I first started writing this essay for myself, as a reference to put in my notebook volumes. Then I decided to try and get it accepted for publication in The Heirloom Gardener, a relatively new publication of Jeremiath Gettle and his Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. But soon, I realized that I do not have experience with medicinal herbs, so I certainly shouldn't write an article about them for a magazine. (Which is the very reason I started this whole project: to get familiar with herbs for health!) So now here I am with a somewhat rough draft of an essay. I am so very tired of this particular piece that I am ready to toss it, but instead I think I'll post it on the blog! :-) After all, I started work on it 2 years ago, so I should be ready to move on to new projects!! At any rate, here is what I found out; I hope the message gets through.

In today’s commercial society, people are used to the convenience of prepackaged and ready to use solutions to their everyday needs. Included under this umbrella is medicine, especially in relation to common temporary illnesses.

Almost everyone takes advantage of all the new (and tried and true) products available at the neighborhood drug store. And that’s not all bad, as some of the stuff there is OK. But for those who prefer to stick closer to the natural lifestyle, alternative options abound.

I cannot possibly go over all of them in this essay, and neither is it my intent to do so, but I would like to familiarize you with a lesser traveled path, one that is more work yet can also be more rewarding.

Surprisingly for the modern world, yet really age-old wisdom, the Creator in His all knowingness supplies everything we need to live our physical lives right in nature itself. Therefore it should not catch us off guard to learn that a cure for our cold is growing in the garden.

Many plants have medicinal properties and can be put to a wide range of uses. For example, consider the herb Lavender. Research suggests that while drinking a strong tea made from the leaves of the plant is calming for the mind during a busy day, cold tea applied to a washcloth makes a compress to relieve headaches. In addition, an infusion of lavender buds helps to relieve the pain of sunburned skin.

Another useful plant is called Comfry and it is often found growing wild in the woods (that’s where ours came from-see endnotes). An infusion of comfry leaves promotes healing of surface wounds, bruises and minor burns, while a decoction of the root (see definition list) can be used to stop the bleeding of small cuts.

“It’s tea time! Thyme tea time.” That’s all you need to say to settle an upset stomach or help soothe a sore throat. A thyme infusion will also relieve congestion and help stop the February sneezes.

If you occasionally have trouble digesting your meals, Anise or Sweet Basil may be just the thing you need! An infusion of either will aid in digestion, and a strong tea of Caraway seeds will help settle your upset stomach. More digestive helps include Lovage tea and the same made instead with Sweet Marjoram. Also, be sure to grab a cup of marjoram tea if you feel a cold or sore throat coming on as you can even use it as a gargle for mouth inflammations!

We’ve all heard of Catnip, but don’t we sometimes look over all this herb’s charming benefits? In addition to improving digestion, an infusion of dried Catnip leaves will lessen cold and flu symptoms, calm fevers, and stimulate the appetite while promoting a restful night. Sweet dreams……meow!

On the same note I’d like to mention that the Mints (Spearmint, Peppermint) also promote sleep, which I realize is something lots of folks already know about, thanks to Celestial Seasonings’ Sleepytime® tea.

Chamomile contains antibiotic properties, and extracts from this plant can stimulate the immune system. Sleep inducing and stress relieving, Chamomile tea is easy to make and quite beneficial. Just snip off portions of the leaves and flower buds, place in a tea bag or cheese cloth, and steep in hot water until desired strength is reached.

For people who experience pain caused by migraine headaches, it is believed that an infusion of Feverfew will reduce their occurrence, as will eating 3-4 leaves a day. To make them more palatable, try laying the leaves out on a saucer and drizzling honey on top of them. The added natural sweetness certainly isn’t all bad.

It is comical to see how these plants overlap each other in the wonders they can perform for our health. You really don’t need a large garden plot to ensure protection against sickness. Put in a few plants, care for them, harvest what they offer, and use it! You might just notice a difference.

Definition List

Tea: A beverage made by steeping the plant’s leaves in warm water.

Infusion: A drink made by steeping plants or plant extracts in hot water for 10-20 minutes, making it stronger than tea.

Decoction: A water extract of bark or roots prepared at a low boil for 10-20 minutes; stronger than an infusion.

Salve: A soothing or healing medicinal or cosmetic ointment generally made with healing substances such as herbs infused in oil, strained, and the herbal oil then solidified with wax.

Tincture: An extract of a plant made by soaking herbs in a dark place with a desired amount of glycerin, alcohol, or vinegar for two to six weeks. The liquid is strained from the plant material and then may be used therapeutically.

Et Cetera

Comfry is very invasive, and virtually impossible to dig up completely, so be sure to plant it where you want it to stay, and not too close to other plants.

Avoid using catnip if you are pregnant.
This is not meant to supercede the advice of a doctor...blah..blah.....blah...

Information taken from the books:
Your Backyard Herb Garden, Miranda Smith, Rodale
Herbal Remedy Gardens, Dorie Byers, Storey

Don't miss your first chance

2005-12-01T14:05:00.000-06:00

I was really upset when it snowed and got cold in early November. I mean, I like it when it snows, but so soon? We haden't put everything away from the yard yet! The garden hadn't been tilled! The air conditioners weren't covered. The trampoline was still up. We had more wood to cut. Snow already??

Luckily, it soon melted and the weather got really nice a few days later. Then we had our second chance to take care of what needed taking care of. Fifty degrees seems awful warm if it was 20 just days ago. We had company for Thanksgiving, so everyone spent alot of time getting the house ready and the food prepared. Ruffs and Willards came and went, and then guess what: it snowed the next day! The only problem is, we still had stuff in the yard.

Snow again? But the trampoline is still up! Hoses need rolled and put away. Are all the gardens put to rest? Pretty much.....

It's just over zero now. There won't be another oppurtunity; one doesn't always get a second chance. Don't miss your initial chances...especially concerning eternity.

Photo Gallery: Seth D. Willard (Installment I)

2005-11-30T20:13:00.000-06:00

I am not a seasoned photographer-I can hardly be called an amateur-but if I'm holding a camera and see a beautiful sight (especially outdoors) I can't help but snap the shutter. That's not to say it'll even turn out! On the other hand if it does, then I'll probably set it as the desktop background for the computer. In which case since I'm that far already, I might as well share it with you by posting it on Greener-Grass. So that is what I've done now; I took these at Lake Carlos State Park in October, the time I was so preoccupied that we were just as good as lost wandering all over the woods and horse trails. Is it worth getting lost just to take pictures? Probably not, which is why I don't do it very often! Anyway, you are welcome to use these for whatever you want. Just right click on the image, select 'copy' and paste somewhere else, or 'save image as' and store in your computer. I will post more autumn scenes as I upload them to Blogger as well as various others I take. I have a friend who is a "real" photographer and she would like to share some of hers with you too.

If you use one of these in a publication, please state that the "photo is by Seth D. Willard" if it is appropriate. Otherwise forget it.

Clean Up Your Act....Naturally

2005-11-30T19:59:00.000-06:00

In the next bunch of posts, we will be discussing the natural lifestyle: how a Christian should view the "back to the earth" movement, organic gardening and foods, genetically modified organisms, natural health products and remedies, and more. I hope you find it interesting, as I surely do. This complete article is taken from the September 2003 ShopNatural email newsletter. It is a good introduction to what we all can do to make a difference for the planet we live on.

This month we’re looking at using natural and organic cleaning products in and around the home or office. While many of us may use some or all of these products occasionally (or regularly), many are also unaware of the potential harm that can come from mass-market cleaning products. [For the purposes of brevity, the term “commercial” is used in this article to denote non-natural, non-organic chemical-based products to differentiate them from natural and organic products.]

There are some alarming statistics from a variety of reputable sources about the quality of air in our homes. In fact, most statistics report that indoor air quality is two to five times WORSE than outdoor air quality. There has been a dramatic rise in childhood asthma in the U.S. in the last 20 years. Some studies have linked this rise to the increased use of chemical cleaners as well as the increased reliance on ‘closed loop’ heating and cooling (heat pumps, air conditioners, etc. that re-circulate air). Another alarming statistic is that women who work inside the home are far more likely to develop cancer than women who work outside the home. Many more of us, men and women alike, are working from home these days, so this should be a statistic that makes us all take notice!

There are over 17,000 synthetic cleaning products on the market today yet only 30% have been adequately tested for adverse health effects. What are some of these suspected health effects? Allergies, headaches, chemical sensitivities, asthma, Attention Deficit Disorder and cancer. Is there a direct, provable link? Not in all cases, but there certainly is enough evidence that suggests that chemicals in the home, in our yards and playgrounds and at work and school have certainly contributed significantly to health issues. The residue from these chemicals not only gets added to our groundwater, but it also floats around in the air, causing us to inhale micro particles of substances that are known to be hazardous to healthy living. Rather than continue on with the litany of scary things that could happen, let’s focus now on the positive changes we can easily make in our routines that will promote good health, safe homes and a clean environment.

Household Cleaners

Most commercial household cleaning products contain chlorine, ammonia or anti-bacterial chemicals. Using these product to clean most problems is like using a tank to drive to the grocery store…a bit of overkill. Anti-bacterial products DO kill bacteria. However, the overuse of these products is causing new bacteria to form that are resistant to these products. In most cases, household cleaning can be accomplished with natural products and, occasionally, with a bit of extra elbow grease. You can also mix your own cleaning products from simple ingredients, if desired. Check our Resources section at the end of this article for websites and books on the subject. [Word of caution: always use care when mixing anything and never mix anything with commercial cleaning products!].

Laundry Products

Many of us have fallen into the “whiter whites” trend, wanting our laundry to always be sparkling and bright white. To accomplish this, commercial laundry products use a variety of chemicals (bleaches and optical whiteners, to name two) that can cause allergies, skin irritation and sensitivities. Natural products clean clothes just as well as commercial products without all the toxic by-products.

Some tips for getting clothes cleaner using (any) product – make sure you use the right water temperature for the clothes. Cold for colors, warm or hot for lights/whites. Why? Cold water will preserve the color of the clothing longer and warm/hot water will help ‘brighten’ up your light or white colors. Use the proper amount of detergent. Use too much and you leave a residue on your clothing that can still cause irritation (even with natural products); use too little and your clothes will begin to look ‘dingy’ making you think it’s time to go back to commercial products. For optimal results, measure the cleaning product and use the amount appropriate to the task. Finally, when washing clothes, let the tub begin to fill with water and add the laundry product(s). You’ll get better cleaning results when you allow the soap to dissolve properly in the water before you jam your washer full of clothes.

As for drying, look for natural dryer products or use natural softeners in your washer. For even better results, hang clothes out to dry when possible. You’ll increase the life of your clothes (washing and drying your clothes too frequently makes the fabric wear faster) and they’ll smell great. You’ll lower your laundry costs (either at home or at the laundromat) when you skip or reduce your use of the dryer.

Personal Care

Shampoo, conditioner, soap, shaving lotion, moisturizers, toothpaste, mouthwash,– these kinds of personal care products have been around a long time in the natural market place. In fact, these were some of the first ‘cleaning’ products made back in the “olden” days of natural products. Over the past 20 to 30 years, these products have continued to be improved and now are often considered higher quality and more ‘upscale’ than their non-natural counterparts.

Commercial personal care products often contain many chemicals, dyes and perfumes that have not been tested for safety and that may contribute to in-home pollution as well as personal sensitivities. But given the incredibly wide variety of natural and organic products, it makes sense to at least start here since you’re bound to find a product that not only works as well as your mass-market product or better!

Baby Products

Even when we don’t give much thought to ourselves, we’re often highly sensitive to using natural and organic products with our babies and children. The availability of products geared specifically to babies and young children has grown by leaps and bounds (almost as fast as your children grow!) and there’s every reason to use natural and organic products for your growing kids. Exposing them to harsh chemicals in the home and in their personal care products is not a great idea given the volumes of data published about the proven and suspected dangers of using these chemicals. From baby wipes to diapers to diaper rash cream to shampoos, you can find natural and organic products for all your growing children’s needs without introducing toxic chemicals to their vulnerable systems.

Paper Products

As much as many of us try to avoid using throw-away paper products, there are times it is a necessary convenience. Switching to natural paper products saves trees, improves the environment, and provides the same quality products you’re used to. Most natural and organic products are made from a certain percentage of recycled post-consumer waste. This is important because post-consumer waste is waste that has been recycled after the consumer has used it – such as recycled cardboard or newspaper.

In addition, many commercial products use are bleached and one of the toxic by-products of some paper manufacturing is dioxin. Switching to natural and organic alternatives can reduce the use of bleach and dioxin and helps keep our environment cleaner.

Go natural

One of the chief complaints some people have about using any natural or organic product is that it sometimes costs more than the product you find on the shelf of your local grocery store. It’s important to understand that there is a cost that is not being added onto the price of the product on the shelf but one that we’re all paying every day – a polluted environment. If the cost of cleaning up the environment and paying for the health care issues caused by these toxic chemicals was included in the cost of these commercial products, you’d find that the natural and organic alternatives were far less expensive. Unfortunately, these ‘hidden’ costs are not so hidden – it’s just that we’re paying in different ways – with our health, the health of our children and the health of the environment.

So, look around your home and find ways to switch to natural and organic products. You and your family will be healthier and you’ll help keep your home and the rest of the world a bit cleaner and free from harmful chemicals. Every journey begins with a single step. What step will you take today?

Resources

Annie Berthold-Bond, The Green Kitchen Handbook Practical Advice, References, and Sources for Transforming the Center of Your Home into a Healthful, Livable Place.

Theo Colburn, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers, Our Stolen Future. Plume/Penguin, 1997.

Sandra Steingraber, Living Downstream. Addison Wesley, 1997.

Dan Fagin, et. al., Toxic Deception, Birch Lane Press, 1996.

(c) 2003 ShopNatural Cooperative. All rights reserved. Cumulus Weblog Group takes no responsibility for the content or the outcomes resulting from following the advice in this article or in the books cited. Please seek direction in prayer before implementing any major changes to your lifestyle.

Is this blog for you?

2005-11-29T14:07:00.000-06:00

I think it's time for a little description of the purpose of this weblog and a summary of what you will probably find here in the coming months and beyond.

This is the internet home of Seth Daniel Willard. I am an 18 year old homeschooled student, and live in Minnesota with my family, which includes 5 siblings. There is Ian-16, Ember-11, Sam-9, Nathanael-4, and Josiyah-2. My parents are Lloyd & Tanya, and they're in the prime of life! Mom has willingly been a keeper at home since I was born, and Dad is a Mechanical Engineer who sacrificed promised titles and wealth so he could move his family from the Twin Cities to "the country" where he started his own medical company.

Anyway, my weblog is a compilation of many different endeavors which I have thought about or started doing, and is intended to be viewed and utilized by a wide range of people: Christians of any denomination, as long as they are sincere; Messianic Jews, since that is the form my faith has taken; and non-Christians, who may be searching and seeking or simply browsing and uncovering.

On this site you will read a lot of articles (if they may be called that) which were written by myself. Sometimes they will be funny or comical or contain 'good' criticism directed at certain folks. Other times I will be serious, reasoning, debating, pleading or trying to persuade you (or myself) of something. The tone is bound to fluctuate according to my ever changing emotions and feelings, but the message will be consistent with what I believe.

You will hear me talk about Christianity, worldviews, religion (in both forms of the word), homeschooling, history, family vision, health, the outdoors, projects I am working on or have been thinking about, books and magazines which I enjoy, companies I really trust, recipes that were a hit in my late magazine The Recipe Monthly, methods or products I'd use again, questions in my head that I'd like to ask you, etc...

This place is for people pondering current political and cultural events, for those with questions about the environment and natural living, for those looking for encouragement and support, for those who like to try new inventions, make discoveries, get creative juices flowing, sing a new song from the heart, and so much more!

Finally, it is for old acquaintances-in light of Auld Lang Syne-to whom this website is dedicated.

So please look around, all of you. Read what's interesting, skip what's not, ponder it over, and check back often.

Thanks for your time,
Seth D. Willard

Psalm 100-The Thanksgiving Passage

2005-11-23T15:18:00.000-06:00

As Christians, you and I know that the November holiday is more than just Turkey Day or a football party. For one, it's a historical and meaningful observance of the faith of our fathers, remembering how they (the pilgrims) came over to a new land so they could have the freedom to worship and live the way they knew was right. Secondly, it is a recurring reminder for us to give thanks for the great bounty we enjoy today and praise and worship Him who gave it all to us, and cares about us no matter what!

Shout for joy to Yahweh,
all the earth!

Worship Yahweh with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that Yahweh is Almighty.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people,
the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him
and praise his name.

For Yahweh is good
and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues
through all generations.

Remembering the Lego Days

2005-11-18T13:55:00.000-06:00

We (my brother Ian and I) used to play with Legos alot when we were younger. They were the best entertainment around, and they were just so fun! Now Ember and Sam (ages 10 and 8) play with them, but instead of being in "sets", they are all mixed up and scattered around.

I was looking at all the boxes from the sets yesterday, since we saved them, and it brings back alot of memories, especially of when we got a particular set or the first time we built it. I gave Ian Sharks Cave Cove for his birthday, and I also picked out the Space Port sets that got us hooked on that line. We never had any Wild West, but wanted some bad. The Shop at Home catalog made all the layouts look so attractive.

It's too bad the Lego Co. has changed their focus to Harry Potter, Star Wars, Bionicle, and other subjects more appealing to so called modern builders. What they had was certainly good enough. It is hard to find "noble" legos now, so I hope ours last for a long time. "Pick up your toys, kids...they're getting stepped on!"

The Role of Your Worldview

2005-11-16T14:52:00.000-06:00

The very first week after I finished school found me involved in a similar, yet in ways much more intense, occupation. Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota hosted the staff of Worldview Academy, a ministry based in Texas, and around 200 teenage students who flocked there to attend the 2005 Leadership Camp which the academy puts on every summer at various colleges across the nation.

It started on a Sunday afternoon and lasted through Friday morning. As with most new experiences, I had no idea what I was getting into beforehand. As we drove up, camp counselors in red STAFF shirts waved, danced, and hollered “Welcome to Worldview Academy: the best week of your life!” They helped us bring our luggage into the dormitory, where everyone received a colored bracelet for the team competitions and a room key.

A diverse group of kids came to the camp, but it is interesting to note that a large percentage of them were homeschooled. For example, one of my roommates was homeschooled and my small group consisted of seven people including the twenty-year-old counselor. Of them, four were currently being homeschooled, one had done a Christian school, homeschool, and was now in a public high school, one had never been taught at home, and one graduated with the homeschool class.

No matter our background, who our roommates were, whether we had a large breakfast that particular morning or a small one, it didn’t even matter what color team was winning the competition for the Spamley Cup, we all seemed to get along pretty well. Of course, the counselor’s job was to make sure everybody “got something” out of the lectures, so in order to answer his questioning in the right, one had to make sure to listen carefully and take lots of notes.

We attended two lectures each morning and three in the evening with the afternoons being free. The topics, which ranged from author Jeff Baldwin’s “Ten Biggest Decisions of Your Life” to his “Christianity and the Arts”, were divided into three groupings: Worldview, Leadership and Apologetics.

Included were a briefing on Pseudo-Christian Cults, “Seven Sweet Lies You Already Believe” and talks on Evolution, Critical Thinking, the Reliability of Scripture, a Christian’s role of cultural contribution, and “The Twelve Trademarks of Great Literature.”

We started with an introduction to worldviews in which Jay Winslow, an English teacher in the public schools, taught that one’s worldview is his framework for understanding existence, and that everyone has a worldview, whether they know it or not. He said that our ideas have consequences, and our worldview will be apparent in the work we produce. For example, Shakespeare had a strong biblical worldview as evidenced in his masterpieces (along with Handel, Bach and Michelangelo.)

Ernest Hemingway, on the other hand, had a terrible worldview, believing there was no purpose for life or suffering. He is joined by Pablo Picasso with his abstract art, Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, and John Cage (who believed music happens by chance).

Brandon Booth, the camp director, reminded us that leadership is influence and communication. He shared by saying that in order to be a servant leader we must have: meekness, which is controlled power, integrity (the quality of being complete and undivided) and vision (or the ability to see Yahweh’s [the LORD’s] presence, power and plan in spite of obstacles).

The Charisma Driven Leader seeks recognition, demands his rights, and is influenced by the people. But the Character Driven Leader seeks righteousness and responsibilities, influences the people and is focused on them.

Mark Bertrand entertained the class with his jokes, comics, great PowerPoint presentations, and interesting details. In his lecture “WISDOM is not what YOU THINK” the writer and teacher taught that our assumptions about wisdom are utterly wrong. He said that wisdom does not come from within us; instead it comes from outside. It is not what we THINK; it stems from obedience, not intellect. It is measured by deeds, not sentiments.

Where does wisdom start? Psalm 111:10 says “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.” The fear of Yahweh requires seeing with His eyes and a right relationship with Him. In other words, wisdom starts with worldview. It flows from worldview and builds upon it.

With all the activities going on at camp, it turned out to be a jam packed week. Devotions, meals, lectures, competitions, and even an evangelism practicum where we witnessed to visitors at Como Park Zoo filled up our days. And then there was worship, small group time, more food (always enough), visiting during the walks back and forth from building to building, and finally a quite night of sleep (sometimes not! Heads reeling with questions in need of answers; and never long enough!)

But looking back I see it was good. The best week of my life? No, home life gets me that. But at the Worldview Academy Leadership Camp, I did learn some important stuff, namely the fact that we are expected by our Creator to think in terms of worldview.

This means that our Christian worldview, because it is rooted in the scriptures, is stronger than and can overthrow false beliefs, man’s reasoning, and anything that is not Truth.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not fight according to the flesh. For the weapons we fight with are not fleshly but mighty in Yahweh for overthrowing strongholds, overthrowing reasonings and every high matter that exalts itself against the knowledge of Yahweh, taking captive every thought to make it obedient to the Messiah…”

With this in mind, we need to encourage people to be consistent in their worldview, no matter which category it happens to fall under. Theism or atheism; polytheism or pantheism. One god or none; many or everything. For if they try to be consistent and their beliefs are untrue, their whole religion will fall apart because only Truth will bear inspection. Pray that they will find the Truth that they might be set free.

Joshua 1:6-9

2005-11-15T20:35:00.000-06:00

Reading Ten P's in a Pod has inspired our family to read more scripture together and also to memorize it. Recently we have been working on Joshua 1:6-9 which says

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for Yahweh [the LORD] will be with you wherever you go."

I typed that from memory, with help from my sister Ember. Thanks so much Bert!

America Recycles Day

2005-11-15T15:43:00.000-06:00

Since I really take an interest in recycling and the environment, I am naturally quite excited that today happens to be a day devoted to encouraging people to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

We are blessed to have an incinerator in our county that burns garbage (after it sorts it for recyclables) and uses the heat generated to warm up the local hospital and 3M plant. I don't have to feel too bad about what I throw away (I still recycle all I can) since our garbage isn't going straight to a landfill. Apparently they haul away the ashes and even use some of them in concrete during road construction!!

I will have more environmental notes in the weeks coming up.

Welcome to my new blog!

2005-11-14T19:53:00.000-06:00

I'm glad you found your way over here. This is the place to stay updated on all the grazing, musing, and wandering Seth Daniel Willard is doing. And believe me, I do alot of it!

Let's keep in touch!